Andromeda Black and the Fight for Freedom
by RoLouG
Summary: Andromeda Black has never quite fit in with her sisters. As she starts her fifth year at Hogwarts, she meets Ted Tonks, and she begins to grow apart from her controlling family. But the new life she forms for herself will be anything but easy…
1. Prologue

I close my eyes. The words I have been dreading have come, as I knew they would. No-one can evade the Death Eaters for long.  
Sometimes I forget that many years have passed. Sometimes, in these dark days of loneliness, I am still fifteen years old, standing on train platform with a trunk of spell books. I didn't know it, but that day was the beginning of a journey greater and far more important than that of the journey to school.  
I see now that I was at a crossroads, a platform of sorts that year. I had to decide which train to take, which path to choose. Sometimes I think back to a clear crisp day, many years ago, on the first of September where my journey began.


	2. Chapter 1: Departing Train

Andromeda looked around her. The busy muggle station hadn't changed much since the year before. The same people in their alien muggle clothing, hurrying from platform to platform, as a crackly voice announced incoherent words over a loudspeaker. The large clock on the wall read quarter to eleven. Still plenty of time.

She hurried slightly, pushing her trolley, laden with trunk and cat basket, to catch up with her two sisters. From the back, one would never guess that the two girls were related, the taller girl with black unruly curls that reached to her waist, the smaller with a long sheet of white-blond hair, like silk. From the front it was slightly more obvious, despite the gap of four years that separated them.

Andromeda watched, almost wistfully as Narcissa laughed at some undoubtedly witty comment that Bellatrix had made, tossing her long blonde hair back in a gesture that was attractive and yet haughty at the same time, as though she owned the world. Andromeda sighed. At thirteen, Cissy was already showing signs of being as beautiful as her oldest sister, albeit in a very different way, and she knew it.

Andromeda Black had never quite fit in with her sisters. She looked like them, it was true. Her long, thick hair was a lighter shade than Bella's, a soft, reddish-brown, and her eyes were lighter too, but she had the same fine bone structure and mouth as her older sister. But she was different; it was as simple as that. Different, weird, wrong. Perhaps there had been a mix-up of some sort. She often felt that she had been born into the wrong family, a feeling that she shared with her nine-year-old cousin, Sirius. She didn't really agree with the blood-elitist principles that her family lived by, that they were better than others because their ancestors had magical blood, tracing back for centuries. As she had spent more and more years at Hogwarts, she had seen that muggle-borns, despite what her sister, and seemingly the rest of the family, could make incredibly talented witches and wizards, although she didn't dare voice this opinion in front of Bella for fear of being laughed at. Or worse.

Hogwarts had had the opposite effect on Bellatrix. As the years went by, Bella had fallen in with a group of students who had recently become interested the activities of a wizard, who called himself Lord Voldemort. He seemed a bit too anti-muggle for Andromeda's liking, and as he seemed to grow in popularity, more suspicious and dark things had been happening. Bellatrix greatly supported his views, and despised muggle-borns. She had gotten into trouble more than once at Hogwarts because of this.

Andromeda sighed. It was behaviour such as her sisters that had earned Slytherin its bad reputation. Most Slytherins were actually not that bad. She managed just fine, and felt that she had definitely been sorted into the right house. Being in Slytherin had helped her a lot. She had some good friends, who looked out for her, and she for them. So what if she didn't always agree with what people were saying in the common room? She was perfectly entitled to her own opinion, and they to theirs.

She knew she wouldn't really fit in with any of the other houses. She was fairly intelligent, but not enough to be in Ravenclaw. She was lucky enough that most subjects came easily enough to her that she could pass exams, and she knew that this attitude separated her from the Hufflepuffs. Besides, she could imagine how Bella would laugh if she had been sorted into Hufflepuff. She would probably pretend they weren't related. And as for Gryffindor, well, years of growing up with Bella as a sister had made her the shy, scared eleven-year-old that had tried on the great hat, which had whispered in her ear that Slytherin would help her become the person she had potential to be. It had told her that she could be a great witch, and had hidden ambitions. What those were, she had yet to find out.

Yet she had found a place, a home with the Slytherins. Throughout her first few years she had been overshadowed by Bella's terrifying reputation. The Slytherins had looked out for her, scared by what might happen to them if Bella had found out her sister had been mistreated. Now, although still quiet, she wasn't nearly as shy as she had once been, and was strong enough to stand on her own. She even looked out for the first years. Few wanted to argue with the infamous Bellatrix Black's sister, and she remembered how terrifying it had been, to be so small, in the rambling, confusing castle, and how worrying it could be to some that they had been sorted into the house that had the worst reputation. Some wore their Slytherin title like a crown, others were afraid of how the rest of the houses would treat them. Perhaps one of the hidden ambitions the Sorting Hat had seen was her ambition to prove that not all Slytherins were blood-elitist, power-hungry morons with a tendency towards curses. Perhaps it was because of this that this summer's owl had brought her a surprise, she was fifth year prefect for Slytherin.

She was startled from her reverie by a sharp poke in the back. She whipped around, startled. A familiar face grinned at her reaction. It was Isabelle, her best friend. She was pretty with long straight black hair and large blue eyes which sparkled with mischief.

"Earth to Dromeda? Where've you been all summer?" Isabelle laughed.

Andromeda didn't feel guilty. She had never been much of a letter-writer during the long summer holidays, and besides, Isabelle hadn't written to her either. But that didn't matter. "Oh, you know, the usual. Visiting my aunt, torturing my sister, that kind of thing. Kept pretty busy. You?" Andromeda replied as they surreptitiously walked through the barrier that separated the mechanic hustle and bustle of Kings Cross from the chattering mayhem that was Platform 9 ¾ on the first of September. All around them, families hugged and kissed goodbye, teenagers greeted much missed friends, younger siblings played, owls hooted and above all the noise, steam blew from the top of the magnificent Hogwarts Express. Andromeda and Isabelle hauled their trunks, Andromeda's cat and Isabelle's owl to a compartment near the end of the train, where they found the rest of the Slytherin fifth year girls. Andromeda stowed her trunk in the luggage rack, left her bag and her beloved cat Onyx on the seat and, amidst all the hugging of friends not seen since last term, slipped out. She searched the platform, eventually locating her mother as she hugged Narcissa goodbye.

"We'll see you at Christmas," her mother said, hugging Andromeda in a rather formal way. "Have a good term. Work hard."

"Love you," Andromeda said. Just then, the whistle blew. "Quick quick," her mother said, pushing her away slightly. "On to the train with you." Andromeda rolled her eyes and ran to the nearest door, and pulled it shut behind her. Once again her mother had weaselled out of any real sign of affection towards her middle daughter. She should have expected it really. Nevertheless, Andromeda leaned out of the window to wave to her mother as the train pulled away. She didn't know if the mass of frantically waving parents was obstructing her view, but it looked as though her mother had already left.


	3. Chapter 2: A Collision

**Hi there. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'm still getting to grips with using this website. I noticed a small mistake in this chapter, so I'm re-uploading it. Basically, this is my first fanfiction. Any reviews would most certainly be welcome. And, just as a warning, this story does contain original characters, as friends etc. However, they don't affect anything in cannon, and as there is very little about this time period at Hogwarts, pre-Marauders, I think that I'm able to use some creative license. Read, review and enjoy!**

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Andromeda began to make her way down the train towards the prefect compartment to receive her instructions, stopping every two minutes to speak with other friends and acquaintances. Despite her sister's fearsome reputation and her Slytherin status, Andromeda was fairly popular. Although shy at first, she didn't judge people by their first impressions, and as the years wore on, she found that her tactful silences, sense of humour and kind nature had earned her, not only her friends, but their respect. She was nice to people, no matter what their blood status, and this surprised most people enough to want to know her. Isabelle, and most of the other Slytherin girls could often be a bit rude to people, especially muggle-borns, which embarrassed her a little. Mostly though, they were all right, a good bunch of friends to have.

Most of her Slytherin friends had no idea how much her sister's reputation had hung over her. Most people had initially expected Andromeda to be like Bella, always in trouble for bullying first years and muggle-borns. The fear and respect, the protectiveness with which they had treated her had hurt her, made her feel embarrassed. She had proved to them that she was nothing like Bella, and now the respect she had was earned. Watching wary eleven-year-olds scuttle out of her way in the corridors because they thought she was Bellatrix and galvanised her into helping the first-years, being nice where she could. Mostly it worked. It was why she had earned the prefects badge that year, she thought. She liked to set an example.

She bumped into Catherine, a Ravenclaw, whom she was pretty good friends with. Catherine was a bit like Andromeda herself, shy and quiet, but of course, far more intelligent. Andromeda sat with her in Transfiguration, Potions and Ancient Runes, and Catherine had helped her out of more than a few tricky spots. Both confided in the other more than they did with the girls in their own houses. Catherine told Andromeda how lonely Ravenclaw could be sometimes, the pressure to do well, to be the best, the competitiveness. Andromeda told Catherine how she didn't always agree with how the Slytherins treated others, and how scared she was herself of Bellatrix. If Isabelle was her best friend, then Catherine came a very close second.

They spoke for a while, about their holidays, until Catherine was hailed by some fellow Ravenclaws, and Andromeda continued to make her way down the train. She was almost at her compartment, when a figure suddenly walked into the corridor and bumped right into her. She almost fell backwards, when a hand reached out to steady her.

"Sorry. Are you okay?" The voice was male, a mellow, pleasant voice, tinged with concern.

"I'm fine," Andromeda said, looking up to see a boy she recognised from her own year. A Hufflepuff she remembered from several of her classes. Tonks, that was his name, Ted Tonks. He was friends with Anwen, a Hufflepuff girl she was friendly with. She remembered him as a small plump boy, always laughing, with his shirt hanging out. He had changed considerably. He was now tall and strong, the fat turning to muscle, his blonde hair flopping into his blue eyes. His shirt was still hanging out though.

He smiled briefly at her, blushing, and was about to say something, when a friend called him and he walked past her. She turned to watch him go, but he didn't look back.

The whole thing had taken maybe five seconds. Yet it was enough to set her heart racing.

Andromeda shook her head. _Don't be silly,_ said a voice in the back of her head.

She made her way to the Prefects carriage, as per the instructions on her letter. There she found out that her friend Anwen had also been made prefect, along with a boy she vaguely recognised. She sat next to her and glanced around. Rabastan Lestrange was her fellow Slytherin prefect. His brother was currently going out with her sister, and she had often noticed him watching her in the common room. _There's a good catch_, she thought bitterly. _Your parents would approve of him. You can have a double wedding…_ she almost laughed out loud at this thought. She disliked him, he often showed a tendency towards cruelty to muggle-borns, along with his brother.

Their Head Boy and Girl gave them instructions to patrol the corridors, as well as handing them a rota for Prefect duty for the autumn term. Andromeda sighed. From what she'd heard, this year was going to be hard enough work without extra duties. _Oh well_, she thought. _Who said life was easy?_ Andromeda spent the first hour of the lengthy journey wandering up and down corridors with Anwen, before entering her compartment at last.

"What took you so long?" demanded Isabelle.

"Prefect duty," Andromeda answered, and the conversation flowed back to the various pastimes of her fellow students during the summer. Rosalia, a slim blonde, was in the middle of a description of her holiday in Egypt, visiting the tombs and such. Next it was Sapphire, a half French girl, who had spent the entire holiday on a shopping spree in the wizarding streets in Paris, spending her great-grandmothers legacy. The compartment was subjected to a full detail description of Sapphire's new designer dress robes, and the designer perfume that she had bought. "They're the perfect colour! They bring out the colour of my eyes. I did so need another pair, my last were so out of fashion it's ridiculous… It's simply impossible to find it here! I should think I'm the only person in Hogwarts to own a bottle! It is wonderful, _tres_ chic, but of course not my most expensive."

Honestly. Sapphire was not Andromeda's favourite person in the whole wide world. All right in small doses, but a total snob. Valued everything at how much money it was worth.

"How was your summer then, Dromeda?" asked Celia, a tall black girl with braided hair.

Andromeda told them about visiting her Aunt Walburga, in her large house on Grimmauld place, her visit to Diagon Alley where she bumped into a member of her favourite band, Eye of Newt. Her friends seemed more interested in this, begging her for details. She didn't tell them how she and Sirius had spent two weeks hiding Bella's wand, blaming it on Kreacher the house elf, or her argument with Bella that had left her with boils erupting from her face, or how the _Daily Prophet_ article about a susceptibly magic-related muggle killing and her parent's complete lack of sympathy had made her feel angry about how wizards treated muggles and caused her to argue with her parents.

And so the journey continued. Andromeda sat with Onyx in her lap, stroking her soft ears while the cat purred contentedly. She picked up a copy of the _Witch Weekly _that someone had left on a seat, and began to read. At about midday, rain began lashing against the windows as the train weaved its way through valleys and alongside rivers. The lunch trolley came and went, and the Slytherin girls shared a feast of sweets and cakes. After a few hours Andromeda did another quick patrol of the corridors, which, like the rest of the journey, was uneventful.

As the sky outside darkened like a spreading bruise, more and more bored first and second years started mucking around outside the compartment, getting more and more rowdy and irritating. Andromeda was able to use her new authority as prefect to stop them. Finally, the announcement echoed through the train, instructing them to change into their roes. Andromeda pulled her robes on, stowed Onyx back in her cat basket and sat back down waiting for the train to stop.

The night was chilly but fresh as Andromeda stepped out onto the platform at Hogsmede Station. Despite the rain throughout the journey, the sky was clear, the, deep blue, the stars twinkling like diamonds on a blanket of silk. Andromeda followed the crowd to where the large carriages, apparently moving on their own. Catherine had told her that great black horses pulled them, and were called thestrals. Catherine could see them, having been with her mother when she died of a muggle disease. Andromeda was glad she couldn't see them. She followed Celia into a carriage and sat as it carried her and her friends to the great gates of Hogwarts.


	4. Chapter 3: Notices

**Just a short chapter. JK. Rowling owns.**

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"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the frayed, patched and dirty hat. Andromeda cheered along with the rest of her house as "Darlington, Rebecca" became the first Slytherin. The tiny girl pulled off the hat and scurried towards the table, blushing furiously. Andromeda shook her hand, introducing herself as one of the prefects, and people clapped her on the back. The list continued, and more and more terrified-looking eleven-year-olds joined the table.

Finally the last few first-years were sorted, and Professor Dumbledore stood.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Before we hear our start-of-term notices, let us first enjoy our wonderful feast. Tuck in!"

The tables were suddenly filled with a vast selection of food. Andromeda sighed gratefully and reached out to take a helping of steak and chips. The conversation flowed easily around her as she ate. She listened quietly to a discussion about who their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher that year. Andromeda had never had the same teacher two years running. It was rumoured the job was cursed.

"It's probably that woman there," Isabelle was saying. Andromeda turned. A tall, powerfully built woman with greying hair was talking cheerfully to Professor McGonagall. Andromeda didn't recognise her.

Soon the main course gave way to a fantastic array of puddings. Andromeda was full and sleepy but she could never turn down the Hogwarts puddings. Taking a slice of her favourite cheesecake, she listened to the conversation, not joining in. She felt too tired, and thought longingly of her four-poster bed, with its green hangings and the calming sound of the lake lapping against the windows…

"May I have your attention please?" Professor Dumbledore was standing again. "I just have a few start-of-term notices to give out. First, to any newcomers, the Forbidden Forest in the grounds is strictly forbidden, hence its name. Any students caught entering it may be in great danger. Anyone wishing to try out for their house Quidditch teams, please submit your names to your heads of house in the next two weeks. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, any hopefuls should do likewise.

"Finally, I would like to introduce you to our newest addition to our staff, Professor Weatherhart, who will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." Here he indicated the woman Isabelle had noticed earlier. She looked around the hall, acknowledging the smattering of applause with a nod of her head.

Professor Dumbledore continued through the list of items that had been banned, and Andromeda lost focus. She was only aware of the end of the speech because of the mass movement of students getting up, the scraping of benches, the sudden outburst of chatter. "You all right there Drom?" asked Isabelle. "You looked like you were drifting off for a moment there."

"Just tired." Andromeda replied. She set about locating the tired group of first years, and showing them to the common room. "Parseltoungue," Andromeda said to the stretch of damp stone wall. The hidden door opened and they entered the common room. The room glowed green from the lamps and the ghostly night glow of the lake. The fire was roaring, but Andromeda could only think of her soft bed. Instead she had to show the tiny first year girls towards their dormitory, and gave them a little speech about being in Slytherin. One or two, she could see, were wary of being in the house, and she attempted to convince them that it was a great house to be in.

Finally she could have some time to herself. She walked through the door that led to the her own dormitory. Her trunk was already at the foot of her bed, which was beside the window. Onyx mewed impatiently to be let out of her basket. Andromeda let her out. The cat rubbed her soft head against Andromeda's hand, then ran off to find something for dinner.

Andromeda rummaged in her trunk then climbed into her soft pyjamas, and clambered into bed. She pulled her hangings about her, and snuggled into the soft sheets. She fell asleep almost instantly, and didn't wake when Onyx, full for the night, found her way through the hangings and jumped onto her bed, snuggling against her warm body. She was in the land of sleep and dreams, travelling along a corridor, looking for someone, but never finding them.


	5. Chapter 4: Hard Worker

**It's interesting how inspiration always strikes while I should be doing something else. The majority of these chapters were written whilst procrastinating. Oh well. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or favourited. Any more reviews would be extremely welcome. J.K. Rowling owns these characters.  
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It was only the first day of term and already Andromeda was late. She just didn't know where the time had gone. She had been studying in the library over lunch, trying to make a start on the extremely long History of Magic essay (Homework, on the first day?) as she wouldn't have much time tomorrow evening because of prefect duty. She had checked her watch to see that she had two minutes to get to her next class. Luckily it was Charms, easily her best subject, and she hoped that Flitwick wouldn't mind too much. Even so, she hurried through the stragglers, the line of third years outside the Transfiguration classroom, and the group of sixth year boys blocking the corridor, presumably for their own amusement.

She reached the classroom and walked in. Luckily Professor Flitwick wasn't there yet, and she had time to slip into the empty seat next to Isabelle unnoticed. "Where've you-"

"Library," Andromeda interrupted, rummaging in her bag for her charms book. As it happened she didn't need it for a good half the lesson. The tiny Charms teacher started the lesson with a lengthy lecture about O.W.L.s a new hobby for teachers this year, it seemed. After that he dictated a long list of common spells that they would be asked, both to write about in the written examination, and to perform in the practical. Andromeda left the Charms classroom in a very bad temper, a feeling shared by her classmates. By the time she had sat through a Transfiguration lesson, where the exact same pattern was repeated, she was in no mood to sit in the common room and listen to Sapphire go on about the many virtues of Sapphire Bouchard. After dinner she went to the library to try and continue with her History of Magic essay on the giant wars.

She worked steadily in the wonderful quiet of the library. It was peaceful, and she was able to concentrate better. Finally, at quarter to nine, with half an essay and numerous sheets of notes she returned the reference books she had been using and picked up her sheets of parchment.

She was just passing the Herbology section when she collided with something solid. Her notes flew everywhere and she tripped back slightly, supporting herself on the table. She heard a soft curse, and looked up to see, not for the first time, Ted Tonks, who had just walked out from between the shelves, right into her.

"I'm so sorry. Again." He said bending down to collect the parchment that had fallen on the floor.

"No it's fine, you don't have to do that," Andromeda insisted, bending down to pick up her textbook, her brown hair falling down like a curtain.

"It's the least I can do. I've always been a bit of a clumsy moron," he said smiling at her. It was a smile that made her feel a little bit breathless. _Don't be an idiot,_ the voice in her head told her. "We keep meeting like this. It's Black isn't it?"

"Andromeda," she said. "When you call me Black it makes me think of my sister."

"Ah yes, the infamous Bellatrix Black."

"Don't judge me," Andromeda warned. "I'm nothing like her." She didn't know why she felt she had to make this clear to him.

He smiled. "I won't, don't worry. I'm Ted, by the way, Ted Tonks," he grinned, passing her parchment back to her.

"Well, thank you. For helping me." Andromeda said, trying to fight the strange heat that rose in her cheeks.

"Well, let's not forget that I knocked them out of your hands in the first place. Still, who am I to not help a damsel in distress?" he joked.

At that moment, Madam Pince, the new librarian, swooped down on the two of them like a bird of prey. "Quiet in the library," she hissed. "If you have no books to borrow then I suggest you make your way back to your common rooms. The library closes in fifteen minutes."

"Yes. We will. Sorry," muttered Ted, and the two of them left the library, giggling. "Old bat," he muttered.

"Yeah," Andromeda said, and together they walked down the stairs. "She'd probably be okay if she got out once in a while."

"Yeah," Ted agreed, "But can you imagine her in The Three Broomsticks?"

"That's just too strange for words. The ultimate though, it imagining McGonagall at a party. Wouldn't that just be the most awkward thing?"

"Urgh," Ted shuddered. "I don't like to think about it. Teachers outside of school is just wrong."

"I know. I bumped into Slughorn in Diagon Alley once, in Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Most awkward five minutes of my life." Andromeda smiled at the memory. Slughorn had been at a total loss for words, having actually been seen trying to weasel his way out of paying for his enormous ice cream sundae.

"I can imagine." They continued talking until they reached the marble staircase. He had a great sense of humour, and had her smiling almost the entire way.

"Well," said Ted, as they stood at the bottom of the staircase. "It was nice talking to you. I'll try to look where I'm going in future."

Andromeda laughed. "See you around," she said, and turned to go towards the dungeons. She turned slightly. He was still there, watching her. She smiled and headed towards her common room.

Isabelle was still up, reading the _Evening Prophet_. "What took you so long?" she asked. "Did you get much work done?"

"About half the essay, yeah. You've got to hate Binns, first day back and he's given us a twelve inch!"

"I know, the idiot. I should have come to the library with you, I might have actually got some work done. But no, idiot that I am I stay and get treated to one hundred and one reasons why French shops are so much better than English shops, author Sapphire Bouchard."

"Haha, catchy. Anyway, I'm pretty beat, first day back and all. I think I had better get an early night."

"Okay, see you."

Andromeda made her way to her dormitory. It was only nine o'clock and she was not at all tired. She needed some privacy. She put on her pyjamas and pulled the hangings around her bed. Onyx was curled up at the end of her bed, but when she dug out her book and began to read, the cat got up, stretched and lazily prowled to a new spot, closer to Andromeda, within stroking distance.

Andromeda enjoyed reading. There was some fiction out in the wizarding world, but her favourites were actually muggle books. She had come across them in a second-hand bookshop in Diagon Alley. They were a selection of muggle "Classics" and just reading the titles had given her goose bumps. She knew how her mother and sister and even some of her friends would react if they discovered her books, and that gave her a feeling of excitement, a certain rebelliousness. She had bought the whole set, and hidden them in her room at home, and always took them to Hogwarts with her. She had read them all before, several times, and still the words had the power to amaze her. _Maybe that's why wizarding fiction is so poor,_ she thought. _We have magic. They don't, so they create their own. These words are their spells._ She was currently re-reading _Wuthering Heights_. She loved the lonely atmosphere of it, the almost poetic feel to the words.

She read for an hour, until she heard the other girls come up to bed. She hid the book underneath her pillow and lay down, pretending to be asleep behind the silk hangings. She was tired, yet at the same time, wide-awake. Crazy.

She kept going over her conversation with Ted. He was a really nice guy. Funny too. She realised that she wanted to talk to him again. Just the two of them. Maybe they would see each other again in the library. She realised her heart was speeding up just thinking about it. _Don't be ridiculous_ said the voice in her head. It was beginning to sound an awful lot like Bella.

Andromeda told the voice to shut up, and get out of her head.


	6. Chapter 5: Arrangements

**Just Andromeda and Ted getting to know each other some more. I think that Andromeda wouldn't have risked everything for a guy she hardly knows, at least, my version of her wouldn't. I think that their conversations are important, (even though I'm not very good at writing them). Read, review and enjoy! J.K. Rowling owns  
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Andromeda hardly felt the weeks fly by. Before she knew it, it was October. She had never known so much homework. The teachers seemed to be piling it upon them every lesson. She struggled to keep up with it all, despite spending hours in the library. She was working harder than she had ever done, simply to keep up with it all. And on top of all that she had to spend every Wednesday and Saturday evenings patrolling the corridors with the irritating Rabastan Lestrange.

She'd spent every evening that she could that fist week in the library, and it began to form a bit of a habbit, partly because she liked to escape the glares of her sisters in the common room, the sound of Sapphire's irritating drawl and the irritating attentions of Rabastan. But partly because she wanted to see Ted again.

She had enjoyed their conversation a lot, and often found herself thinking about it. They hadn't spoken since, but there was the odd smile, the occasional nod. More than once she had looked up, in class or in the Great Hall, to find him watching her, studying her with those blue eyes. _Oh_, the voice in her head taunted. _Wild. He's watching you. He smiled at you. Big deal._ She always told it to shut up.

She was sat with Catherine in the library when she saw him again. It was the first Saturday in October, and she was attempting to deal with the mountain of homework that Professor Flitwick had set them. She heard the door to the library open, and looked up. There he was, amongst a group of friends.

What was happening? She didn't understand it at all. Nor did she understand the strange sensation that she felt when he saw her from across the library and smiled. She felt her cheeks burning, and looked quickly down at her notes. Catherine next to her didn't notice anything.

She looked up carefully from under her eyelashes. He was with her friend Anwen, the other Hufflepuff prefect, and a few more whom she knew by sight. He was handing a book back to Madam Pince. Anwen waved and walked over to sit next to Andromeda.

"Hey," she said quietly. "You having a go at that Charms essay?"

"Yeah, trying to." Andromeda replied. He was walking over. "Have you had any luck with it?"

"Not much. He never normally sets us homework this hard, does he? Must be because it's O.W.L year."

"It is _the most important year of your insignificantly short lives_ after all," Andromeda joked quietly, forming quotation marks with her fingers. Anwen giggled. She saw Ted smile two, and her heart started racing.

"Either that or he just doesn't like us," Ted muttered. Andromeda had to stifle a laugh. _Wasn't that funny,_ the voice muttered scathingly. He pulled out chair, knocking over another one as he did so. It managed to be endearing rather than annoying.

"I'm sure that's it," she whispered, then looked down at her essay, letting her hair fall down like a curtain in the hope that it would hide her burning face. She looked up to check something in a textbook, and surreptitiously watched him take his parchment from his bag, knocking over an inkbottle as he did so. He cursed under his breath, and took out his wand to clean up the mess. She smiled and turned back to her essay. She caught Catherine looking at her, eyebrows raised. She found it hard to concentrate after that.

After a few hours, she decided to go and meet Isabelle in the Great Hall for dinner. She got up, picked up her completed Charms essay, and the Defence Against the Dark Arts essay that she would try to finish tomorrow, and left the library. She was halfway down the corridor when she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and felt a swooping sensation in her stomach, Ted was running towards her.

"Hey, you left your quill on the desk," he said, handing it to her. She blushed, and took it, stowing it into her back.

"Thanks," she said. She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"You going to the great hall?" he asked. She nodded. "I'll walk with you then." They set off together. Andromeda was speechless. It seemed that the shyness that hat haunted her throughout her first year was returning. _No, _she thought,_ I refuse to let that happen._

"So, you enjoying the most important year of your life?" Oh sweet Merlin, that was lame.

"Well if you discount the hours of homework, working your but off in class and the constant lectures, I've got to say yeah, pretty much been a blast," Teddy laughed.

"I know," Andromeda replied, easily latching on to the much debatable subject of the hated O. . "If it weren't for Catherine, they'd be telling me not to bother sitting them."

"I'm sure they wouldn't, you can't be that bad."

"I'm struggling to get through everything, even if I work every spare hour I have."

"Relax, so is everyone else. Even the Ravenclaws are having trouble."

"Wow. That makes me feel marginally better."

"I'm glad." Ted grinned and ran his fingers through his long blonde hair. Andromeda felt that she might be staring at him, and looked down at her shoes.

"What other subjects did you take?" he asked. "I did Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Those are really difficult. Then, I was always good at maths in primary."

"What do you mean?" Andromeda asked. "What's primary?"

"Sorry. I meant Primary School." Seeing her look of confusion he said, "I'm a muggle-born. I went through muggle school before I found out that I was a wizard."

"Oh." That was all she could say. That one syllable, that was all she could say.

"Hey now! Don't hold that against me!" Andromeda looked up. He was staring straight ahead, but she could see that he looked hurt.

"I'm sorry. It's just… I never thought…" Andromeda looked down again. She couldn't articulate what she was feeling. Ted suddenly stopped, and turned to face her.

"Does it really make a difference?" he asked. She could feel him looking at her, and forced herself to look into his eyes. She could see the hurt behind them, the feeling that maybe he wasn't good enough because of this small fact. Andromeda recognised it.

She had grown up feeling that maybe she wasn't good enough for her parents, because she didn't uphold their pure-blood views, because she wasn't like her sister. She could see in him the feeling that had perhaps haunted him since he got his letter. He wasn't as good as the others because he didn't come from a pure-blood family tracing back centuries. Perhaps that was why he had been placed in Hufflepuff. He was prepared to work as hard as he could to prove that he was good enough.

She thought of her sister. Mad Bellatrix Black, bullying the first years, acting as though the world owed her something. Her one ambition was to know more curses than anyone else in the school, and she frequently demonstrated that she probably did. Did she, Andromeda Black really want to be like that. _No_. _Not to me,_ Andromeda thought. _It doesn't make a difference to me. _But it did to Bella. She really couldn't understand why. Why was blood so important? Answer; it wasn't. Not to her. And that, she thought, should be enough.

"No," she said out loud, looking Ted right in the eye. "No, it doesn't. Not at all." She could see the relief in his eyes. "I've said before, I'm not my sister."

"I know," he said. The intensity of his gaze made her heart speed up. She couldn't think of anything to say…

"Care of Magical Creatures," she blurted out. He looked slightly confused. "Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. My subjects."

"Oh yeah," he said, and they started walking again.

"I'm in your Ancient Runes class. Have you had any luck with that last translation?"

"Stumped me. Just looked like a bunch of squiggles with the odd punctuation mark thrown in."

"Same! It's like it's another language or something! I'm glad it's not just me."

"Say, we should work on it together."

"That would be great. When's it due?" she asked, barely able to keep her voice under control from happiness.

"Friday. How about Tuesday, after dinner?"

"Well, lets see. I think I have to do homework that evening, followed by a lot more homework, and then an extra hour of studying before I collapse with exhaustion."

"Great," he laughed. "Tuesday it is. In the library."

They continued talking, until they reached the entrance hall. Andromeda had Ted in stitches with her uncannily accurate impression of their Ancient Runes professor, and he made her laugh… looking back, Andromeda couldn't think of _why_ she had been giggling the whole way there. They entered the Great Hall and paused by the doorway, where Ted turned and said, "I'll see you Tuesday then, Dromeda."

"I suppose you will," Andromeda replied with a smile, and with a small wave, she turned around to head towards the Slytherin table. And found herself face to face with Bellatrix, a smirk playing on her lips, her dark eyes glinting with malice.


	7. Chapter 6: Defiance

**A fairly short chapter. J.K. Rowling owns  
**

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She really didn't care what Bellatrix thought. Really. She was a free human being, she could talk to whomever she wished. It really wasn't up to her sister who she, Andromeda Black, hung out with.

But the thought of those eyes, those hard, cold, dark eyes, gave her shivers.

She didn't care. She _didn't._

_Oh yes you do_. That bloody voice. It wouldn't leave her alone.

So why was she sitting on her bed, not in the library at all? She had nipped to her dormitory to get her back, and been sat on her bed for ten minutes, just thinking.

_What am I so scared of?_

_ Bella. What she'll think. What she'll say._

_ Why does that matter so much?_

_ It shouldn't._

_ Exactly. So why am I still here?_

_ Beats me._

_Fine. I'll go._

_ But what if Bella sees you?_

_ All the more reason to go._

Andromeda got up so quickly that Onyx twitched her head up in alarm. She grabbed her bag and hurried through the common room, hardly hearing Sapphire's lazy drawl, "Of course, not everyone can afford to get them specially made. They just have to make do…" _Stuck-up cow_, thought Andromeda, as she walked out of the wall. Straight into Bellatrix.

"Going somewhere are we?"

"What's it to you?" Andromeda snapped, trying to walk past her sister, who was blocking her way.

"Hold on a minute little sister."

Andromeda turned around impatiently. "What do you want Bella? I have somewhere to be?"

"Oh I know. Rudophus' little brother seems to think that you're meeting with that filthy muggle. And judging by the pathetic event I witnessed in the Great Hall the other day, I would think that he's right." Bella said maliciously.

"Don't call him that!" Andromeda snapped, a hot surge of anger rippling through her.

"Why do you care?"

"Because! It's cruel and degrading, and completely unfair! I don't want you calling my friends names."

"Oooh your _friend," _Bella sneered. "Sounds like you want to be more than just _friends_ to me."

So cutting. "I'd defend any of my friends if you called them 'muggle', like that." She retorted.

"Oh, I can think of much worse than just 'muggle' little sister."

"I'm sure that you can. Now get out of my way."

"Make me."

Andromeda pulled out her wand, and looked up to find her sister's short, bent wand already in her face. Andromeda didn't flinch, and instead looked her sister right in the eye, challenging her.

"What makes you think I wouldn't?" Bella smirked. Andromeda just stared at her, looked her right in the eye, refusing to submit to her anger and give Bella the satisfaction of a reaction. Bella lowered her wand. Andromeda pushed past her, and was a few paces away when she felt something white-hot strike her cheek. She whipped round. Bella was pointing her wand directly at Andromeda, a crazy look in her eye.

"You're a dirty mark on the Black family tree. Aunt Walburga'll have your name blasted off that tapestry one day, you mark my words."

Her anger boiled over. She couldn't think of anything clever, or cutting to say. "Good," she said, her voice shaking only a little. "Then I won't feel associated with the likes of you." And with that, she turned on her heel and marched towards the entrance hall.

Once sure she was out of sight, she almost ran towards the library. She was sure he would have left by now, wouldn't have bothered waiting for her. She really wasn't worth it. She realized her face was wet. She was crying. She wiped her eyes angrily with the back of her hand and marched into the library.

Oh sweet Merlin.

He was there.

Waiting for her.

Well, not really. He was working on the translation. But still.

He looked up, saw it was her and smiled, then the smile turned to a look of shock, mingled with concern.

"What happened?" he asked her as soon as she sat down.

"What do you mean?"

"You're bleeding." Andromeda looked at her hand. Smears of red stretched across it where she had wiped the tears from her face. Her cheek hurt, she realised. She had been so upset she hadn't noticed.

"Oh."

"Here," Ted pulled out his wand, and muttered something. Her cheek felt momentarily warm where the curse had hit it, and then normal.

"How did you know how to do that?" she asked. Healing spells weren't on the curriculum, considered to be too dangerous to teach younger students.

"Being a clumsy idiot leaves me expecting the worst," he joked light-heartedly.

Andromeda smiled, and rummaged in her bag to find a handkerchief to wipe the blood from her face.

"What happened?" he asked quietly. Andromeda couldn't think how to explain.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said.

"Are you sure?" he persisted. "Because, you know, sometimes it helps. Problem shared and all that."

"I just… I just wish my Bella would stop thinking she has the right to control my every move!"

"Did she do that?" Ted asked, gesturing to her cheek.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I'm here." Ted didn't have anything to say to that. He just took her hand and squeezed it.

"Now," he said. "Shall we look at this translation?"

"Sure," she replied. "I was alright until this section…"


	8. Chapter 7: Conversations and Quidditch

**Uh-Oh. More of the same. It won't be spun out too much longer I promise. J.K. Rowling owns  
**

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As October bled into November, the weather began to worsen, and life continued as normal at Hogwarts. There were lessons, Hogsmeade visits and mountains of homework for the fifth and seventh year. The first week of November brought the first Quidditch match of the season, Slytherin against Gryffindor.

Andromeda enjoyed watching Quidditch. She had never particularly been one to play it, but she loved the atmosphere and excitement of the matches. Her friend Celia was an excellent chaser on the Slytherin team, and Andromeda knew that she had been practising flat out with the other team members.

The Saturday of the first match was overcast and grey. The air was moist but not quite raining. Andromeda went to breakfast with Isabelle, wishing Celia luck as her friend passed her on the way out to the pitch with the other six members. Tensions appeared to be running high in the Great Hall. Many of the Slytherins were throwing threatening glares at the Gryffindors, who seemed only too happy to return them.

Andromeda sought out Ted on the Hufflepuff table. He caught her eye and grinned, rolling his eyes. She smiled back, and turned back around, remembering the peaceful hour they had spent studying in the library. They were becoming very good friends, she was sure of it. The thought made her want to shout with happiness. She stole another glance back to the table, and saw him passing a plate of bacon to his friend, knocking a jug of pumpkin juice over in the process. It made her giggle.

As they left the castle, Andromeda wrapped her cloak and Slytherin scarf more tightly around her. The air was chilly, and she was glad of the warmth as she and Isabelle made their way to the pitch.

The match was exhilarating to watch. Andromeda marvelled at the complex but perfectly executed manoeuvres of Celia and her fellow chasers. The teamwork between the main three players was amazing. Celia's boyfriend was also a chaser, and they seemed to almost read each other's thoughts responding effortlessly to their opponents tactics.

The Gryffindor chasers were not of the same standard and had difficulty holding on to the ball long enough to attempt a goal. However the seeker was another story. It was well known that the Gryffindor seeker Spencer Wood's one ambition was to play Quidditch professionally, and it looked as though he would achieve this. He had been the Gryffindor seeker for three years running, and no other team had been able to catch the snitch in any game he had been part of.

The game was quickly getting brutal. Andromeda sighed. Slytherin had pulled into an instant lead, so why did the Slytherin beaters, two thuggish boys from Bella's year, feel the need to hit the bludgers with such ferocity? Of course, that was the whole point, but they weren't doing themselves or Slytherin house any favours. The Gryffindor beaters were responding in kind, hitting the bludgers ferociously towards the green-and-silver clad players. There were several tense moments, and a few times, the Slytherin team were accused of fouls and Gryffindor awarded penalties. However, by the time Wood finally located the snitch, Slytherin were nearly two hundred points ahead. The final score was one hundred and eighty to two hundred and twenty. The Slytherin side of the pitch went wild.

The party in the common room lasted all day. There was food, stolen from the kitchens, piled high on tables, and bottles of pumpkin juice and Butterbeer, spilling their contents from wild hands. Andromeda was happy that Slytherin had won, but after several hours the noise in the common room began to give her a headache. She was tired, and knew that she had a monstrosity of a potions essay to complete, and yet it was impossible to concentrate in the current atmosphere of celebration. Mind you, Andromeda thought, she deserved a night off.

She was sat with Isabelle, Celia, Sapphire and Rosalia, as well as Rabastan Lestrange, Evan Rosier, Albert Runcorn and a few other boys from their year, but she wasn't really paying attention to what they were talking about. Probably a good thing, as Sapphire was engaged in one of her regular lectures on the only subject she enjoyed; herself.

Andromeda was watching her little sister. She was sat with a group of third and fourth years, sat next to one Lucius Malfoy, a fourth year. He seemed to be the leader of the group. Andromeda had spoken to him once or twice, he seemed like a total snob, the kind of boy her parents would completely approve of, she thought bitterly. He seemed almost majestic in his certainty of himself, one had only to look at him to know that he was pure-blood and proud. She watched the way Cissy looked at him. She was smiling more than Andromeda had ever seen her smile, laughing at every single remark he made with that irritatingly perfect toss of her long white-blonde hair. Her parents would definitely approve.

She decided that she needed some air. She slipped out of the common room unnoticed, and made her way to the entrance hall. Outside the great oak doors, it had begun to rain. Andromeda could see the large droplets bouncing off the stones in the courtyard, already forming puddles in the small crevices and dips in the ground.

Already Andromeda felt better, away from the noise of the common room. She sat down on the marble staircase and leaned her head against the cool banister, watching the rain. She closed her eyes, feeling the coolness on her forehead. The pounding began to subside. She didn't hear the footsteps. She was only aware of another presence when a voice made her jump out of her skin.

"Andromeda?"

It was Ted. Immediately her heart began beating faster. She fought down a blush.

"Hi."

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine, just needed some quiet."

"Oh. Ok." He looked disappointed. "I was just going to the library anyway." He said, indicating the armful of books he was carrying.

"I didn't mean- you can stay if you want," Andromeda said, blushing even more. "I don't mind company. It was just too loud in the common room. Everyone's very smug about winning the match," she explained. He still looked like he was about to leave. "Sit with me?" She asked. "Please?"

Ted sat down on the step next to her. They simply sat that way, in a silence that was companiable rather than awkward. Finally Andromeda said, "So, did you enjoy the match?"

"Yeah. It was fun."

"You like Quidditch then?" Andromeda asked. She was curious to know more about his muggle past.

"Yeah. I found the rules pretty confusing at first. But it's exciting to watch. Better than football anyway."

"I've heard of that," Andromeda said. "What exactly is it?"

"It's probably the biggest muggle sport in Britain."

"But what do you _do_?"

"I suppose in some ways it's similar to the quaffle side of Quidditch. Except there are more people. 10 players have to kick a ball and try to get it into their goal net. There's a goalkeeper on each team too. They're like a Quidditch keeper. They just have to stop the ball from getting into the goalpost."

"That's it?" Andromeda was amazed. For one of the biggest sports in Britain, it sounded awfully boring.

"Well, there are some rules and stuff, but essentially, yes."

"Sounds boring. No offence."

"None taken. I was never any good at it. I'm too clumsy. I'd trip over my own feet more often than I'd kick the ball. Quidditch is much more interesting to watch."

"I'd imagine."

Ted laughed. "I can see you wouldn't be a fan. Not many people here are really. Most muggle-borns agree with me."

"I don't blame them," Andromeda laughed. It was just so… _easy_ talking to him. She could just be herself. They continued chatting for a while, about Quidditch and the match and many other things besides.

Ted looked at his watch. "I really had better get going," he said. "This one's already overdue," he picked up his books, nearly dropping one, and began to make his way up the stairs. Andromeda looked at her watch. It was almost five o'clock. She and Ted had been sat talking for almost an hour without realising. She was shocked. Time seemed to fly when she was with him.

"I'll see you around?" She called up the stairs to him.

"Sure," he answered, smiling.

Andromeda made her way back to her common room. Immediately her friends surrounded her, demanding to know where she had been for the past hour. "I needed some air," she answered, hugging her meeting with Ted to her chest like a teddy bear. She joined back in with the party, suddenly feeling much more cheerful. However, she caught a glimpse of her sister from across the room, raising her eyebrows at her. _You don't fool me_, Bella's eyes seemed to say. Andromeda looked away. She didn't want to deal with her stupid sister today.

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**Oooh the romantic tension.**


	9. Chapter 8: Hogsmeade in the Rain

**Here it is... seven chapters (and a prologue) have all been leading... to this...  
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Andromeda found herself fitting into a new pattern of life. Her free time she spent mostly with Isabelle and the other Slytherin girls. However, free time was limited in these days of intensive study, and, when not engaged in her prefect duties, she found herself spending more time Catherine and especially Ted, working tirelessly in the library. She found herself looking forward to these hours more than the odd free afternoon she spent in the evening. And she knew that this was because of Ted.

She really liked him. It was as simple or as complicated (depending on how you looked at it) as that. She wanted to spend more time with him, regardless of what her friends thought, or even her sister. She ignored the dark looks her sister gave her across the common room. She didn't care about them any more.

None of her Slytherin friends noticed anything, for which she felt almost grateful, but Catherine did. One Transfiguration lesson, after several evenings of studying in the library with Ted and Anwen and a few other people besides, Catherine whispered to her, "What's going on with you and Ted?"

"I don't know," Andromeda muttered back. "I like him," here she blushed furiously. She wasn't used to sharing her deeper emotions. "Sometimes I think he likes me too. Sometimes… I don't know."

"I think he likes you," Catherine said confidently.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes. Well, I'm not positive. But I've watched him in the library the past couple of nights. He can't take his eyes off you. Then whenever you look up, he looks away. It's quite sweet actually."

"Really?" Andromeda

"Yes. It's almost embarassing actually. Hey, there's a Hogsmeade visit coming up," Catherine said. "You could ask him! If he wants to go with you."

"Really? You think I should?" Andromeda was worried. What if she made a complete fool of herself?

"Yeah sure! We could go as a group if you wanted! Anwen and I could come along then subtly and mysteriously disappear, leaving you alone to have a good chat on your own!"

"Wow, you seem to have it all planned out," Andromeda laughed.

"Just ask him," Catherine said.

"Ok," Andromeda replied exasperatedly. "But don't be surprised if he says no."

To her surprise and delight he agreed. Catherine grinned in a smug sort of way, and Anwen looked delighted.

He wasn't, however, her only offer. Rabastan finally had the courage to ask her if she wished to go with him. Andromeda was speechless, she had not idea how to turn him down tactfully, when the truth (That she thought the way he treated muggle-borns was sickening, and absolutely disgusting for a prefect, and that she really wouldn't go out with him if he were the last male student in the school) would definitely not be very diplomatic.

Instead she fended him off with a polite "I'm sorry, I'm going with my friends." She didn't think he seemed too upset about it. _Clearly_, she thought to herself,_ the attraction didn't run too deep._

And so it was that Andromeda found herself waiting by the entrance hall for her friends. It was an angry, stormy sort of day, with rain lashing down in sheets, however this was not enough to discourage the students of Hogwarts from taking advantage of the little freedom that the school allowed.

Ted and Anwen arrived, Ted holding a large black umbrella. They waited for Catherine, and then surrendered themselves to the elements. The four of them huddled close under the large umbrella, not stopping until they reached the warm, dry sanctuary of The Three Broomsticks. Andromeda bought a round of butterbeers, and brought them over to the table where her friends were sat.

The conversation flowed easily, from O. , to how Professor Weatherhart was holding up in comparison to their previous Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers. After about two hours, and several more rounds of butterbeers, Andromeda saw Catherine and Anwen share a glance, before Catherine said, "Oh no! I've just remembered, I have a huge Care of Magical Creatures essay to write!"

"Me too!" Anwen said. Andromeda could feel herself trying not to laugh at how rehearsed this sounded. "We'd better go and get started!"

"Yeah. You two stay here," Catherine said. "No really! You have fun, we don't get many weekends off."

"Yeah. We'll see you later!" And with that the two of them left the Three Broomsticks.

"Well," Ted grinned. "That was subtle."

Andromeda laughed. "Tell me about it."

"I thought they'd never get round to leaving."

"You knew that they were going to do that?"

"Oh I could tell. Maybe I'm psychic who knows?"

"Yeah, right. Want to read my palm, o psychic one?"

"All right then!" She had been joking, but he took her hand from across the table, holding on to it (and knocking over the sugar bowl as he did so).

"If you knew, you didn't have to come along."

"I wanted to," Ted smiled, squeezing her hand gently. "Any excuse you see. To talk to you. Without the entourage." Andromeda smiled stupidly back, lost for words. They just looked at each other. "I've liked you ever such a long time," he whispered.

"Really?"

"Oh ever since third year. I first noticed you, really noticed, when I saw your sister bullying some first year, and when she left, you went up to her and gave her a hug. I just thought that it was a really sweet thing to do."

"But why?"

"Why what?" He seemed genuinely puzzled.

"Do you still like me?"

"Seriously? Well, I think you're kind, funny, smart and absolutely beautiful. That do?" Andromeda closed her eyes, replaying the words in her head. She opened them, and then stood up.

"Where're you going?" Ted asked.

"Somewhere more private," Andromeda replied, a smile curling across her lips. "Care to join me?" Ted grinned and stood up too. He put his arm around her waist as they left the Three Broomsticks, and opened up the umbrella over the two of them. They made their way through the heavy rain, still intertwined.

They reached a small alleyway between two shops. Andromeda pulled Ted by the hand down the alley, and he followed willingly. They stopped a short way down it, and Ted turned around, still covering them both with the umbrella. His arm was back around her waist, pulling him close to her, and she was reaching up, her arms around his neck. And then their lips met. Andromeda closed her eyes, feeling nothing but his lips on hers, his hand warm on her side. Nothing else existed, not the rain lashing down upon the black folds of the umbrella, that was now balanced across his shoulder as his other hand reached into her thick brown hair, nor the passers-by in the street just a few yards away, nor the bedraggled owls swooping above them. The only thing that existed was the little world beneath the umbrella, the two teenagers intertwined with happiness and love.

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**Wow. I hope it was worth it. Let me know!  
**


	10. Chapter 9: A Feeling of Extreme Happines

**Enjoy! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed/favourited my story. It means a lot to me. J.K. Rowling owns.  
**

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"I told you so!"

"Shh! We'll get kicked out," Andromeda hissed, looking up to check that Madam Pince wasn't about to come over.

"I'm sorry." Catherine grinned. "But I told you so!"

Andromeda couldn't help but grin back stupidly. The two girls were sitting in their favourite corner of the library. Andromeda had just finished telling her everything that happened after Catherine and Anwen had left, the memory of which still sent butterflies to her stomach.

"Ok, what happened? Asked a voice. Anwen swung her bag over the seat next to Catherine, then sat down expectantly. "Ted's grinning like he's just won the _Daily Prophet_ grand prize draw. What did you get up to yesterday?"

"They kissed!" Catherine answered gleefully.

"Really!" Anwen gasped.

"Yes. No thanks to you two! How obvious were you?" Andromeda giggled.

"Well it worked!" Anwen said defensively. "I can't believe it!"

"We only kissed" Andromeda muttered, blushing.

"It meant much more than that and you know it!" Catherine said, earning an admonishing glare from Madam Pince. "You two are completely mad for each other!"

"It's true," Anwen agreed quietly. "It's totally obvious."

"To everyone?"

"No. Just us, who know you so well," Catherine joked.

"Phew," Andromeda sighed. "I didn't mean it like that!" she protested as Catherine raised her eyebrows. "It's just..."

"Your sister?" Anwen said quietly.

"Yeah. Her. It's just… this is really special to me. It's the first time I've ever… felt this way about anyone. And I don't want her to ruin it for me. She'll have something to say about it believe me."

"Well don't listen to her. Since when has she ever had a relationship anyway?" Catherine asked.

"Well, she and Rudolphus seem to be going strong!" Anwen pointed out.

"Yeah, only because they're both twisted muggle-born haters who happen to be pure-blood. There's solid groundwork fro a relationship right there," Andromeda muttered darkly.

"Look who it is," Anwen muttered, pointing. Andromeda turned her head, and it felt like her heart skipped a beat. He was walking towards them.

"Hello you three, hard at work I see," Ted grinned, slotting into place on the bench next to Andromeda. He looked up to see Anwen and Catherine grinning at him like they'd been hit with a cheering charm. "I'm assuming by the insane smiles on your faces that Dromeda's just told you what, er, happened when you left yesterday."

Anwen leaned across the table and threw her arms around him. "I'm just so happy for you two!"

"Keep it down," Andromeda protested. Madam Pince was shelving books not far away and Andromeda could have sworn that she saw her roll her eyes.

"Sorry," Anwen said. "But still! I'm just so glad that you figured it out!"

Andromeda rolled her eyes and looked down at her Transfiguration essay that she had been pretending to do for the half hour before her friends had arrived, whilst really thinking about the happiest Hogsmeade visit of her life. Ted slipped his arm around her, and kissed her on the cheek. She felt the spot burning, but in a good way.

"Hello," he whispered.

"Hi," she whispered back, kissing him gently on the lips. It was all too soon when they broke apart.

"Maybe we should leave you two alone," Anwen smirked, while Catherine giggled. Andromeda hit her on the arm with a roll of parchment.

"Shut up," she said, playfully. But she didn't really mind. For once, they were teasing her about something which was making her happier than it had in a long time.

The next few weeks were some of the happiest Andromeda remembered spending in the castle. The days were growing shorter, but the fifth years were still expected to work in every spare second they had in order to complete deadlines, and in addition to that Andromeda had her prefect duties. However, Andromeda found that the hours she spent with Ted, Anwen and Catherine, and often some of their friends, working in the library seemed to pass in a flash, whereas the hours where they stayed in her own common room, and they in theirs, seemed to drag until she was almost counting the seconds.

She got to know the crowd who she normally sat with. She was the only Slytherin, and found that she rather liked it that way. There was David Macmillan, a slightly pompous young man who was the other Hufflepuff prefect, Hector Turpin and Janie Cadwalader, also of Hufflepuff, and Jeremiah Goldstein of Ravenclaw. Jeremiah was also a prefect.

Christmas began to loom in on the castle. The usual garlands of holly and mistletoe were hung from the walls, candles floated inside suits of armour, which Andromeda, Anwen and the other prefects were supposed to oversee, and on the first Saturday of December, Hogwarts awoke to find itself covered in a blanket of fresh snow.

Andromeda watched enviously from the library window as the reasonably free first and second years engaged in vicious snowball fights. There was the occasional student being sent to the hospital wing with snowball-induced injuries, usually inflicted by Slytherins.

Andromeda was not really looking forward to the holidays. It meant two weeks Bella's mostly undiluted company. Andromeda had managed to avoid her sister for weeks. It wasn't hard, they hardly hung out with the same people, and while Andromeda preferred the library, Bella enjoyed stalking the corridors menacingly, terrifying the smaller students, or lording it over everyone in the common room.

Not only did the holidays mean two weeks of the usual vicious glares and snide remarks usually thrown in her direction, it also meant the company of her aunt Walburga. While Andromeda enjoyed hanging out with Sirius, she didn't know if she could stand spending the entire holiday at Grimmauld place.

However, it was better than spending it with just her parents and sisters. With her blood elitist, almost aristocratic aunt to impress, Bella might cut her some slack and leave her alone.

The first day of the holidays saw a crowded station at Hogsmeade, with students hauling trunks and pets onto the Hogwarts Express, chattering excitedly, delighted to be seeing their families after a busy term. Andromeda sat, not with Isabelle as she always had done, but with Catherine, Anwen, Ted and the rest of the library crowd.

It caused her a tiny twinge of regret that she was becoming estranged from her old friends, but at the same time, she found she didn't really mind that much. She found herself disagreeing with them more and more, and every time that snob Sapphire opened her mouth, Andromeda was overwhelmed by a desire to punch her in the face, or at least, practise silencing charms on her. Besides, she still sat with them in the common room, and they hardly seemed to mind that she had other friends these days.

The train slithered like a scarlet snake through snow filled fields. It was as though the countryside was a just-iced Christmas cake, the only colour being the deep green leaves of evergreen trees that could be just glimpsed under the blanket of snow.

Andromeda leaned against Ted, who was sat by the window, Onyx curled up in her lap. The carriage was full of laughter, and Andromeda couldn't help but notice the way Anwen was looking at Hector Turpin. Andromeda couldn't help thinking that maybe there was something there. He seemed a nice guy, quiet, but nice. They would be very sweet together. The journey seemed to pass in a flash. All too soon they were unloading their trunks from the luggage racks, and the carriage was empty.

Andromeda looked out of the window. All down the platform, parents were hugging their children, and friends were hugging each other goodbye. She watched as a mother held her eleven-year-old daughter close, as though she was the most important thing in the world. It made her realise that she'd never had that sort of a relationship with her mother.

"Hey," It was Ted. "Aren't you coming?"

"Yeah," Andromeda sighed. Ted reached up and helped her pull her trunk down from the luggage rack.

"Are you alright?" He asked. "Something tells me you're not too thrilled about seeing your family?"

"How did you guess?" Andromeda asked dryly.

"Maybe I'm Psychic?" he joked, pulling her close.

"Who knows?" Andromeda whispered, reaching up to kiss him. How long they stayed that way, she didn't know. It could have been seconds, minutes, hours. She was barely aware of the world just two feet away through the glass. When they broke apart, he whispered "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," He helped her pull her trunk off the train. Her mother and sisters were waiting for her. She pulled her trunk and cat basket towards them.

"What took you so long?" her mother snapped, signalling to the other two to start moving.

"I was just… saying goodbye to some friends," Andromeda replied. She saw Bella give her an evil look, eyes glinting maliciously. Oh boy, this holiday was _not_ going to be fun.

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**Just thought I'd throw in some canon characters. Names don't come too easily for me..**


	11. Chapter 10: A Gloomy Christmas

**Not my favourite chapter, but let me know what you think! J.K. Rowling owns  
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Andromeda woke early on Christmas Morning. As usual, it took her a moment to realise she wasn't in her four-poster in the Slytherin common room, or in her tiny bedroom at home. The room she was in was gloomy, and dark, not just because of the earliness of the hour. The curtains were heavy and slightly dusty, as though the room wasn't cleaned often. It wouldn't surprise her. Not that she'd really know, but it seemed that the black family didn't have many guests at number 12 Grimmauld Place.

She was just glad that she didn't have to share a room with her sisters. She didn't think she could bear it if she didn't have the privacy that moving her bed against the door gave her. Anyway, she knew her sisters preferred sharing with each other.

She reached over to see a small pile of presents at the end of her bed. She reached for the pile, rummaging through them until she found a small box with Ted's untidy handwriting on the note attached. She opened the small piece of parchment. _I saw this and thought of you. Merry Christmas. Love, your Teddy_. She gazed at this note, tracing the words with her fingertips. Then she carefully undid the wrapping paper. Inside was a box, she opened it, heart thudding. Her eyes widened.

It was a necklace, a beautiful silver chain, on the end of which was a heart. The outline was silver, and in the centre, were three flowers, made from tiny green stones, emeralds, she guessed. Silver vines crept around them. It was so beautiful, that she could only look at it. She had never owned anything so perfect.

She gently took the chain from its setting in the box, and clasped it around her neck, felt its cool weight at her collarbone. She hoped he liked her present, it seemed so rubbish compared to this. She had given him a luxury eagle feather quill that she had seen advertised in the _Daily Prophet_. It seemed so impersonal now.

She opened her other presents. There was a box of chocolate frogs from Isabelle, which wasn't a surprise, the two had a tradition of giving each other sweets as presents. There were the usual gifts from her family, some books and a new set of fancy robes from her parents, a box of joke products from Sirius. Catherine and Anwen had each given her a box of posh Honeydukes chocolates.

She washed and put on her dress and a thick cardigan, and went downstairs to greet her family. The kitchen bore no sign of decoration; it was as gloomy as ever. "Merry Christmas," Andromeda said, taking her place next to Sirius and helping herself to toast and a few rashers of bacon. The usual generic replies followed. Andromeda listened to the conversation of the adults, her mother was telling some long-winded story of a friend whose daughter had just married a muggle-born. "I don't know _how_ her mother is going to cope. Imagine bringing that shame on the family!"

"Imagine," said Bella, with a pointed look at Andromeda.

"Surely if she's happy, nobody can tell her what to do?" Andromeda heard herself saying. Everyone looked at her. Her mother raised an eyebrow, and she could see Bella smirking. "I-I mean," Andromeda continued, unused to the attention, "This isn't the eighteen-hundreds is it? Surely marrying someone you love is better than being stuck with someone you don't really like, just because he happens to be pure blood?"

Her mother laughed, but it was an awfully forced sound, almost mechanic. "Darling, you don't know what you're talking about. I suggest you stay out of this."

"But that's like an arranged marriage!" Andromeda protested. "That doesn't happen anymore! It's so archaic and old-fashioned. You can't make someone get married, if they don't want to! People should get married for love, not because they're told to, or because it gives them a higher status." It was like something from one of her books. She could hardly believe it could exist over a hundred years later.

Her mother grimmaced. "It's better for someone to marry well, into a good family, than end up on the streets," she said, to the nods of agreement from the rest of the family. "That girl will end up without a penny, when if she had followed her mother's suggestion, she could be living in a fine mansion, with anything she could ever want."

"But it's her life! Surely her mother wants her to be happy? What kind of a person-"

"Andromeda, that's enough," her father's loud voice broke through her argument. Andromeda felt angry tears threatening to break through. She got up from the table.

"Where are you going?" her mother asked.

"I'm not really hungry right now," she snapped. "Merry Christmas," and with that she left. Out in the hall, she paused for a moment, leaning against the musty walls. She ran up to her room, grabbed her thick winter robes, which luckily, could just about pass as slightly eccentric muggle clothing, wound her scarf around her neck and pulled on her boots. She went back downstairs and slipped out of the front door.

Outside the air was biting cold. She pulled her robes around her, and started walking. She didn't know where she was going, but she kept walking. In this part of London, the snow was heaped at the sides of the road, and had turned to an unwelcoming, ugly, grey slush. A harsh, cold wind blew, pulling her long hair back from her face.

After a few minutes, she found herself at a small, grim park. She sat herself down on a bench, wincing at the cold of the wooden slats as it seeped through her robes. She sat there for a while, gazing miserably at nothing in particular, thoughts swirling around her mind.

The one thought that kept coming back to her was this; her parents would never accept Ted. She had known it all along really. He was muggle born, and they seemed unable to comprehend the idea of loving someone with a lower blood status than you.

She began to wonder if her parents had ever really loved one another, really loved, or had they simply been forced together and made do. She couldn't really remember any signs of true, pure affection. They were fond of each other at least, but did they really love one another? It was hard to tell. She certainly couldn't imagine them saying to one another the words she had read in her muggle books, the declarations of undying devotion, called from balconies or whispered intimately to one another.

She knew how she felt about Ted, she was sure that she loved him. Was she too young to really know what it was she felt? Perhaps. But her instincts were rarely ever wrong, and she could feel that she was right about this.

But here came the question; could she sacrifice her family for him? If she chose him, she knew her family would disown her from the shame of it. But her heart told her that she couldn't be without him. Tears slid down her face, hot at first, but freezing quickly in the cold air. She didn't know if she could give up her family.

Despite how estranged she currently felt from them, there were still some happy memories from her childhood, before Hogwarts, before she had become her own person and believed the principles her family had drummed into her. She remembered her mother holding her and Narcissa, reading them the _Tales of Beedle the Bard_, her father levitating her down from a tree when she had climbed too high, the day Sirius was born.

Sirius. He, at least, may understand how she felt. She knew how frustrated he was by the life he had to lead. But the rest of her family, they just didn't. She was sick of it.

Andromeda closed her eyes. She was starting to get cold, she knew she would have to go back soon. Before they noticed her absence.

Oh, why did she have to worry about this now? Couldn't she just live for the present, not worry about the future. Her family didn't know about Ted, not unless Bella had told them. _I wouldn't put it past her_, Andromeda thought. She suddenly felt decisive. She would stay with Ted at Hogwarts; she would do whatever she liked. She was her own person after all. She knew that this was possibly a risky decision. It could hurt her more in the long run, if her parents found out, or if the relationship didn't work out. But it would be worth it, she decided. Any pain she may suffer at a later date would be a worth price for a few months of true happiness.

And with that decision, she pulled herself up from the cold bench and made her way home.

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**Yeah, it's a bit slow this one. I hope her decisions made sense. Hopefully it'll get more exciting. Please review, the comments mean a lot to me.  
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	12. Chapter 11: Correspondence

**This is quite a short chapter. Bit of Sirius, I do like their relationship. J.K. Rowling owns  
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Andromeda was sat on her bed, reading, when the door opened. She quickly hid the book under her pillow, and looked up to see Sirius, looking rather put out.

"Can I hide in here for a while?" he asked.

"Sure. Why?"

"Reg is bugging me. He wants me to play wizard chess with him, but he always wins! Why should I subject myself to that?"

Andromeda laughed. "It's character-forming. Try being the one who always beats Bella. Once she got so angry the chess board started floating and hit me on the head," she remembered. Sirius giggled.

"Ouch. Ah, I can't wait to go to Hogwarts. I can't wait to get out of here."

Andromeda smiled. Hogwarts would be good for him. He so clearly didn't fit in with his family, and it was driving him mad.

"We have to do work too, you know. It's not all feasts and relaxing in the common room."

"It is for first years," he retorted.

"I suppose. You still have end of year exams though." That got him. He changed tack.

"What was with all that stuff you came out with at breakfast yesterday?"

"What stuff?" Andromeda asked warily.

"You know! When your mum was talking about that girl who got with a muggle bloke and you were getting all defensive about it!"

"Was I?"

"You know you were! What're you hiding?"

Andromeda looked at him. Should she tell him? On an impulse she decided yes. "I'm going out with this boy. But he's muggle-born. And I don't know what to do. I mean, I really like him. But I know mum and dad won't approve."

"I knew it! Did he get you the necklace?"

He'd noticed it? "Yeah."

"Lucky you. Forget what your parents think," Sirius grinned. Andromeda looked at him. Although only nine, he really was quite sensible.

Sometimes.

"Thanks," she grinned.

"No problem," Sirius said. They were quiet for a moment, until they heard Sirius' mother hollering up the stairs at him.

"Oh, I'd better go," Sirius sighed. "Reg has probably told mum I'm being mean to him."

"Go play nice with your brother." Andromeda said, smiling at the less-than-trilled expression on Sirius' face.

She took her book out from under her pillow, and continued reading. She was so immersed that it took a while for her to notice the tapping at the widow. She looked up. A handsome tawny owl was perched on the windowsill. She got up and opened the window.

The owl flew in and perched on top of the wardrobe, dropping an envelope on the floor. Andromeda picked it up, and recognising Ted's untidy scrawl, ripped it open eagerly. She had borrowed her family owl to send Ted a letter yesterday, thanking him for her Christmas gift. It had returned later that night, without a letter. Andromeda didn't recognise this bird, it must belong to Ted.

She read the letter, her smile growing. He was so sweet. He thanked her for his present, insisting that it was perfect. He talked about his Christmas, so far. She grabbed a piece of parchment from her open trunk and immediately wrote a reply, which she sent back straight away.

The two continued to write to each other over the two-week break. They always seemed to have something to say. Andromeda was happy; she felt that the weeks apart had made their relationship stronger. She was getting to know him even better. She couldn't wait to see him again on the Hogwarts Express.

* * *

Andromeda waited until the train had left before she went to find Ted. Eventually she located him, and her other friends in their carriage. Two of the boys helped her put her trunk in the luggage rack, and she sat down next to Ted, giving him a quick kiss hello.

"I've missed you," he whispered in her ear.

She listened as her friends talked about their holidays. One of the boys went into detail about his new racing broom; Anwen talked told her about getting to meet her newborn cousin. Ted described the two weeks he had spent at his Grandparent's house. All his cousins had been there, and he told them about the many pranks they had played on them. "They're cheeky little sods." He laughed. Andromeda could tell by his tone that he didn't really mind, had actually enjoyed it.

His story made Andromeda feel strange, made her long for the kind of easy family banter that Ted seemed to be a part of. The closest she had ever come to anything like that was with Sirius. She wished she could be a part of something like that. The thought made her want to cry.

"Are you alright?" Ted asked.

"Yeah sure, just… tired," Andromeda replied. She didn't want to go into her family issues in front of all these people.

Again the journey seemed to pass in a flash. One minute they were speeding through fields, sprinkled with thawing snow, and the next it was dark and mountains loomed over the train. Soon, they were pulling into Hogsmeade Station, and there was a flurry of noise and activity, as students left the train. Andromeda went with her friends to their carriage, and together they travelled up to the castle.

The welcome feast was delicious. Andromeda helped herself to roast beef and potatoes, listening to Sapphire lecture their section of the table about Paris at Christmas. She could tell by the exasperated looks from her friends that it was not a new theme. Andromeda rolled her eyes, glad she had missed out on _that._ It wasn't a particularly inspiring speech.

After dinner, Dumbledore welcomed them all to a new term, and they all left for their dormitories. Andromeda chatted to Isabelle as they walked, but she couldn't help but feel that the awkward silences were growing, where they had nothing really to say to each other. It was a shame, she thought, but they were still friends, and while she wanted to work hard to get good O.W.L. results, Isabelle and the rest didn't seem that bothered. That would probably change, Andromeda thought. Apparently this term was going to be really difficult. Did they not realise that these exams defined their future? Andromeda almost laughed, she was beginning to sound like a Ravenclaw! Not that that bothered her particularly. There were, after all, worse people.

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**Bit more relationship building. I hope it seems natural. I also quite like showing that being in a relationship is good for her, especially her studies and outlook on studying. (Some characters get worse marks when their in a relationship, which always makes me think that maybe there's something wrong... The more time she spends with Ted, the more she spends in the library, hence the marks improve)  
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**Long A/N I know. I'd just like to thank everyone who's favourited my story, or put it on their Story alerts, or reviewed, especially Chibi-Lill. Your thoughts and opinions mean a lot to me, as they do to every aspiring writer. Let me know what you thought!  
**


	13. Chapter 12: Friendly Advice

**Read, review and enjoy! J.K. Rowling owns  
**

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When looking back, Andromeda remembered the next few months as some of her happiest at Hogwarts. True the lessons were hard, and homework was piled upon the fifth years. However, Andromeda found herself actually looking forward to the hours she spent studying in the library, because those were the hours she got to spend with Ted and her friends. The many hours she spent with them caused her class work to improve dramatically, and all her teachers were pleased with her progress.

It was strange, she sometimes thought, how the library had turned into her main place to socialise. How often did that happen, she wondered? Probably not very often. Yet Andromeda found herself there every evening, studying. She found it she did much better when with her friends, especially Catherine. Whilst having fun, she seemed to learn more than in lessons.

Lessons themselves could sometimes be a little awkward. The ones where she normally sat with Catherine anyway were fine, but the lessons the Slytherins had with the Hufflepuffs, where Andromeda had always sat with Isabelle, or other Slytherin friends, Andromeda never knew whether to sit with them or not.

When she didn't she was always worried that they were talking about her behind her back, and felt guilty for leaving them, but when she did, she was always bored by their conversation, felt left out, and wished she had been strong enough to just sit where she really wanted. _Oh well,_ she thought. _Who said life was easy?_

They must have known that she was going out with Ted. They didn't exactly flaunt it in front of everyone, but they didn't try to hide it either. _Why should we?_ Andromeda thought. She'd had enough of hiding.

* * *

Andromeda sat at the Slytherin table with Isabelle, Sapphire, Celia and Rosalia. Sapphire was talking excitedly about Evan Rosier, a handsome, if arrogant boy in their year whom Sapphire had apparently recently taken a liking to. While she wittered on about his many charms, and the one time he had actually spoken directly to her, Andromeda pretended to listen, whilst reading a particularly disturbing article in the _Daily Prophet_ about a family of five who had mysteriously disappeared, apparently without a trace.

Andromeda shivered. Stories like this one were appearing more frequently than she would like, and it made her uneasy.

She looked up, aware that everyone was looking at her. "Well?" Sapphire demanded.

"Sorry?" Andromeda asked, confused.

"Aren't you related?" Sapphire asked, irritated that her monologue had not held the full attention of her audience.

"To… Oh yeah. Really distantly, I think. Third cousins or something on my mother's side," Andromeda replied, trying to seem interested in the conversation.

"Really?" Sapphire seemed pleased.

"I warn you though, I don't know him any better than you do. I've never seen him outside of school." Andromeda said, hoping that this would effectively end the conversation. It was not, however, completely true.

A few years ago, as she was about to go into fourth year, her mother had insisted on the whole family attending a family reunion. Before the actual party, Andromeda had been confused as to why her mother wished to attend, but afterwards, she realised it had been a virtual Who's Who of her mother's pure-blood family, and a big chance to catch up on family gossip.

Andromeda had spent most of the day sat in the garden, reading her book, having no desire to listen to boring adult conversation, or talk with her sisters, where she would only have been left out again. However, she remembered that Rosier had been there, although she had refused point blank her mother's attempts to make her speak to him.

Instead, she looked across from the Slytherin table towards the Hufflepuff table, her eyes, as usual, searching out Ted. He was watching her, and when he saw her looking, waved. She waved back, grinning. They had Ancient Runes together, first period, the only lesson in which they actually sat together. She was looking forward to it immensely.

She returned to her newspaper, and happened to look up to see Isabelle watching her. "What?" she asked.

"Who were you waving at?" she asked.

"Just… a friend." Andromeda replied cautiously.

Isabelle turned around to look at the Hufflepuff table. "I think I'm done," she said pointedly. "Come with me to the toilets Dromeda?" The other three girls looked puzzled.

Andromeda raised her eyebrows. "Fine," she said. She lifted up her heavy bag and left the Great Hall with Isabelle, who led her to an empty classroom.

"Why the adventure?" Andromeda asked light-heartedly, but underneath she was tense and wary.

Isabelle ignored this. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Andromeda replied.

"You know exactly what I mean. People are talking about it behind your back."

"Talking about-"

"Oh drop the act," Isabelle snapped. "You. And that Hufflepuff boy. Tonks."

"Well, what about it?" Andromeda asked.

"Is it true?" You're…, going out with him."

"Yes, I am," Andromeda said proudly. "What's it to you?"

"Like I said, people are talking. There've been rumours. They think it's insane, going out with a…"

"A what?" Andromeda raised her eyebrow, daring her to say it.

"A muggle-born." Isabelle finished. Both knew what she had avoided saying. Andromeda was glad she hadn't, she really didn't want to fall out with this girl, who used to be her best friend.

"None of my other friends seem to think it's strange."

"None of them know the pressure that comes with being a Slytherin," Isabelle replied. "People turn against you because you're in Slytherin, then anything you do is up for discussion."

"None of them are stupid enough to think that being Pure-blood makes a difference," said Andromeda coolly. "Only Slytherins do that."

"Including your big sister Bellatrix."

There it was. The one downside to her happiness. Bellatrix, who had more power than she should be trusted with, and sometimes Andromeda felt that Bellatrix knew exactly how much power she hadover her sister's life. The main reason that Andromeda could be happy, could be in love with Ted, was that they were many miles away from her parents, who had no idea what was going on behind the gates of Hogwarts.

She knew from her experience at Christmas that bringing her two worlds together just didn't work. Hopefully her parents still knew nothing about her and Ted. But all it would take would be an owl from Bella, and the full wrath of her family's anger would fall upon her.

And now that she thought of it, there was something wrong with the way she was scared to tell her parents. She had gone over all this in her mind at Christmas, had thought that she had decided what to do. All it took was one comment to bring the wall she had built crashing down on her head.

Isabelle watched her as she thought all this out. "I'm not trying to be mean," she said, and she did look genuinely sorry. "It's just, I don't like to hear people talking about you the way they are. And, from what I've heard, your sister isn't too happy."

"When is she ever?" Andromeda muttered darkly.

"I'm serious. I overheard Skeeter telling someone at dinner yesterday."

"Rita Skeeter? She's the biggest gossip in the school! If half the things she says are true, society as we know it will come crashing down!" Andromeda laughed.

Isabelle gave her a strange look. Andromeda rolled her eyes. _Ted would have found it funny_, she thought bitterly.

Isabelle sighed. "I can only tell you my opinion. That it's best for everyone if you break it off with Tonks and find some other boy, someone from Slytherin. What about Rabastan Lestrange? He likes you, and he's from a good, pure-blood family."

"Isabelle? Have you ever been in love?" Andromeda asked. Isabelle shook her head slowly. "Then can you please stop telling me what I should or shouldn't do. I get enough of that from my family thanks."

"I was only-"

"I know. And thank you for sharing your opinion. But I think I can make up my own mind about this." The bell rang, loud and intruding. Andromeda walked towards the door of the classroom they had been talking in.

"Watch out for Bellatrix," came Isabelle's voice behind her. "From what I heard she's planning to break the two of you up, and knowing about her what I do, she'll have a very painful way of doing that."

Andromeda laughed. "I don't doubt it."

"I'm just… letting you know."

"Thanks," Andromeda said. "But I really need to get to Ancient Runes." And, with that, she swept out of the classroom.

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**Thanks again, everyone who's supported me by reviewing, or adding me to their favourites and story alerts. Your opinions mean a lot to me. Look forward to the next chapter soon!  
**


	14. Chapter 13: Drawing to a Close

**The next couple of chapters are, in my opinion, the weakest. However, they made sense with the story I wanted to tell, and I hope you'll forgive me. J.K. Rowling owns.  
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Andromeda should have known that it was all too good to last.

For a couple of weeks after her conversation with Isabelle, she carried on as though it had never happened. However, as March dawned bright and crisp, she found herself being forced to make the decision.

It began with her Mother's illness. One morning, Professor Slughorn called her from her Charms class, and she followed him, curious to his office, where she found Bella and Narcissa waiting for her.

"What's going on?" Andromeda asked.

"Like _we_ know," Bella snarled.

"Alright, alright, calm down my dear. Unfortunately, girls, your mother has taken ill, and is currently in St. Mungos. In light of the circumstances, you have all been allowed one week off from school, to visit her."

Andromeda didn't know what she felt upon hearing this news. Concern, she supposed. Narcissa began to cry. Andromeda put her arm around her little sister's shoulder, while Bella rolled her eyes. "When do we leave," she asked.

"In one hour. A floo connection has been arranged. You may go now to pack your things."

The three sisters left. Narcissa was still snivelling slightly, until Bella told her to "grow up." They reached the common room, and Andromeda hastily packed some of her things, and wrote a quick note for Catherine, Ted and Anwen, and another for Isabelle, which she left on her bed. She folded the note for Ted and her friends into a little paper aeroplane, and prodded it with her wand. It rose into the air and flew out of the dormitory. She only hoped that she'd cast the spell right.

However, she didn't have much time to linger. She ran back to the dungeons, finding her sisters once again already waiting for her.

"Hurry along girl," Slughorn said. "Now, the floo connection should be running so…" One by one the three girls stepped into the fire and, after the dizzying, warm journey through the Floo Network, they arrived in the fireplace of their home, where their father was waiting for them. After a hurried lunch, they went to visit their mother in the hospital.

The Healers were worried about Druella Black's current condition. The next few hours, they were told by a stressed and irate Healer, were critical. In the meantime, their father described what had happened, that their mother had been getting worse for a while, although she didn't realise this, until she had collapsed halfway through morning tea. Andromeda found it strange that this was the first time she had seen her father truly worried about her mother, and it made her soften slightly towards him.

Finally, after several hours, they were allowed in to see her. Andromeda was shocked by how thin and frail she looked, her eyes huge in her face. The Healer refused to give a verdict, saying they had done all that they could for now, and would have to wait. The family simply sat together, Andromeda wondering how long it had been since they had acted like a family. However, after a few hours, Bella and Narcissa needed to use the bathroom, and her father went to get a cup of tea, having not eaten all day. Andromeda was left alone with her mother.

"I've got something I need to talk to you about," her mother began. Andromeda could feel where this was going.

"What?"

"Bella has told me something which worries me. That you're… involved with a… boy at school who is, if she informs me correctly, not of noble stock?"

Andromeda almost laughed. It sounded so ridiculous! And she should have known that Bellatrix would tell. It was like when they were children. Nevertheless, now was her opportunity to speak openly about what was going on. Her one worry was that the shock may kill her frail mother.

"He's muggle-born if that's what you mean."

Her mother's eyes widened. "How could you do this to us?" she rasped. "You're bringing shame on me, on our family!"

"I'm sorry mum." Now this was started, she might as well get everything in the open. "But it's how I feel." Her hand drifted to the heart necklace that she rarely removed.

"You're too young to know what you want," her mother snapped. "What do you know about love? The embarrassment of it all, the humiliation!"

"Surely the most important thing is that I'm happy?" Andromeda cried, turning the heads of several occupants of the ward.

"Why can't you be happy with someone worthier of you, of a witch of your status! Look at your little sister! Already setting her sights upon a fine-blooded young man! Why can't you follow her example? Oh the shame…" her mother continued to mutter hysterically.

"I'm sorry mother. I can't choose who to love."

"You can and you will. Otherwise…"

"Otherwise what?" Andromeda asked defiantly, folding her arms.

Her mother seemed to compose herself. "You have a good think about what matters girl. By all means use someone for practice but, for goodness' sake, pick someone else!"

"I am not using him for practice!" Andromeda almost shouted. She lowered her voice, "Believe it or not mother, I am actually capable of feeling emotions, unlike other people I could mention!" The door to the ward opened, and Bellatrix and Narcissa entered.

Her mother's voice was stern. "You think about what you're doing to this family. Your family is what matters."

Andromeda stood up. She could feel tears threatening, which she didn't want her mother or her sisters to see. She half ran from the ward, blinking furiously, and turned the corridors blindly, unsure where she was going. She leaned against a wall, sliding down until she was sat against it, tears falling freely now. What is it about love, she wondered, that made the tears fall so often. Before this year she had hardly ever cried, now she seemed to be far more frequently.

Her mother. How could she have been so callous to discuss something that would surely lead to confrontation, while her mother was on her sick bed, possibly dying? She should have waited. Yet a part of her was relieved to finally have everything in the open. As though a lead weight had been lifted from her chest.

To settle in her stomach. What was she going to do? This wasn't fair, to try to force this decision on her now, with her mother possibly about to die, while she was already feeling vulnerable. She didn't know if she could trust herself to make the right decision.

She needed to talk to Ted, be with Ted. She knew that, no matter what her decision, whether he liked it or not, he would respect it. However, that only made it a hell of a lot worse. He would be so darned decent about it, and not show what he was feeling, which only made it easier to hurt him, without realising it.

And yet she had been over this at Christmas, and again after her conversation with Isabelle. She didn't want to hurt her family, but she didn't want to lose Ted, not now, when they had barely had any time together. Four months wasn't long.

No. It wasn't. How could she be sure what she was feeling? She was, after all, only fifteen. How many fifteen year olds know what, or who, they want? Her mother was right, maybe she didn't know what love was, was being swept away with silly romantic notions.

She could only imagine one future. Anything beyond that was a wilderness, an unexplored jungle. She could see what she would have to do, at some point, in the future. She would have to choose someday. The lead weight feeling in her stomach intensified.

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**I'd like to add a special mention to HogwartsDreamer113, for faithfully reviewing every chapter! Also to  
Chibi-Lill,  
HereForRhona,  
Haraxniss,  
iheartweasleytwins,  
SiriuslySlytherin17,  
AKToad,  
narniaandharrypotter4ever  
and TheMoonIsLowTonight-funkyfish for all your wonderful reviews. **

**If I haven't thanked you personally, then I'd like ot say a big thank you. Your opinions keep me writing. Thanks again**** to everyone who favourited or put me on their story alerts.  
**

**Next chapter should be coming soon  
**


	15. Chapter 14: Broken

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. As I said, these next few aren't my best. J.K. Rowling owns.  
**

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The last straw was drawn after her return to Hogwarts.

Her mother had recovered, much to the relief of all the family. She hardly said two words to Andromeda after their argument in the hospital ward, until they were leaving. Instead of hugging her goodbye, her mother looked her in the eye for the first time that week and said, "Remember what you have to lose. Think about what you will do to this family." Then she turned her back, and wouldn't turn around as her middle daughter was transported back to school.

Andromeda went straight to the library to find her friends. She needed to catch up on what she had missed. There she found Anwen, Catherine and a few others, including Hector Turpin, she noticed, the boy who she believed Anwen quite liked. She sat with them, looking over Catherine's Transfiguration notes from the week, sighing at the amount she would have to catch up on. She may have to request a break in her prefect duties in order to complete the mountain of work. Suddenly she couldn't look at them any more.

"Where's Ted?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," Anwen replied, without looking up from her Charms essay.

"I'm going to go and look for him," she said.

"Have fun," Anwen said.

Andromeda left the library, and wandered down the stairs out into the sunny grounds. It wasn't long before she located Ted. Unable to stop herself, she ran into his harms and kissed him full on the mouth. He seemed surprised, but pulled her close, running his hand through her thick brown hair. He pulled away slightly. "I've missed you," he muttered.

"I've missed you too," she said. It was true after all. She always felt so… complete when she was with him.

"How is your mother?" he asked.

"Better. They think she will make a full recovery. She… wasn't at her most pleasant."

"Oh," Ted replied. "Shall we walk around the lake?" Andromeda agreed. They walked for an hour, sometimes talking, sometimes not, but it was enough to simply be with each other. Andromeda needed to sort out her head. It was fine to decide what she had to do, when they were far apart, but now she was with him again, it was as though the decision had never been made. She could easily forget the world that was beyond his arms.

They returned to the castle in the gathering darkness. It was deserted, most students were at dinner. Neither was hungry, so they both walked up towards the library. By the time they reached a corridor on the third floor, they hadn't seen a person for ages. Ted slowed slightly, and Andromeda, sensing what was on his mind, pulled him ahead a few paces until they reached a tapestry, behind which was a wide passageway.

She pulled him behind the fabric, and he followed her, his hand around her waist. He kissed her again, and her mind became aware of only him, as she backed against the wall, his body pressing her against the hard brick, one hand on her waist, the other in her hair. She kissed him hungrily, with a longing she could hardly explain, as though her subconscious knew… his hand was slowly sliding up from her waist…

There was a loud bang, and before Andromeda could search for the source, Ted was wrenched away from her, and she herself fell backwards. She looked up and saw, at the top of the passage, the one person she did not want to see when she was kissing her boyfriend; Bellatrix. Her eyes were glittering with anger and her hair seemed to crackle with a fierce electricity. Her expression was furious, her lip curled back to reveal her teeth, and it all made her look a little bit mad.

"Well," she said. "Isn't this… adorable."

"Bella… what do you want?" Andromeda cursed her voice for shaking. She got to her feet and stood as defiantly as she could.

"_Bella what do you want?"_ her sister mimicked her. She laughed cruelly, stepping towards Andromeda. "I thought you'd stop with this travesty when our mother told you to. But no, you just keep flouting the name of Black, cavorting with this… mudblood."

Andromeda slapped her as hard as she could across the face. How dare she use that word! In front of Ted as well! Bella seemed taken aback with shock, then raised her wand and cast a spell that caused Andromeda to be thrown backwards against the wall.

"Leave her alone!" Ted shouted. Andromeda blinked up at him. For the first time since she had known him he looked genuinely angry. It was a strange emotion for him to wear, and alien expression on his face.

"Don't get me started on you, you piece of filth," Bellatrix spat. She walked towards Andromeda, her cheek bright red from where Andromeda had hit her, her wand pointed straight at Andromeda's face. "You disgust me," she said. "You befoul the name of our fathers, associating us with scum like that. And you choose to tell our mother this when she's lying about to die in St. Mungo's!"

"She didn't die!"

"Quiet! I've told you to stop seeing this mudblood-"

"Don't'!" Andromeda cried, tears running down her face.

Bellatrix ignored her. "I tried to let you our easy. But you just don't learn. Where's your sense of pride?"

Andromeda just looked at her, trying to stop herself from crying. "I'll have to teach you the hard way," she hissed.

"Go on then," Andromeda said, standing up. "Do your worst."

Bellatrix smiled, an evil gesture which distorted her face into a terrifying mask. She raised her wand. Andromeda could see the word forming on her lips.

Then at the last minute, Bellatrix spun around to point her wand at Ted.

"No!" Andromeda yelled, but it was too late.

"_Crucio!_" Bellatrix snarled. And Ted was screaming as he suffered the most terrible pain, and Andromeda could feel it too, his pain was her pain. He fell against the wall, writhing in agony.

"Please! Stop it!" she screamed, but nothing would make her stop. "Leave him alone!" she cried, crouching beside him, trying to put herself in the way of the curse, but to no avail.

After what seemed like an age, Bellatrix released him from the curse. He leaned against the wall, shaking uncontrollably. Andromeda was sobbing. She looked up to see a kind of twisted joy in her sister's eyes.

"I didn't want to do that," she hissed. "But you have to learn somehow." And, with that, she pushed past Andromeda and disappeared into the main corridor.

"Oh Merlin, are you alright?" Andromeda asked, her voice shaking.

"That… was… one powerful curse," Ted panted, closing his eyes.

"I am so… so sorry," Andromeda whispered, leaning against him.

"Come on, it's not like you cast it," he muttered, eyes still closed.

Andromeda blinked back more tears. She had to do it, now. This was going to break her heart.

"Not for that. I mean for this," she said, hating herself more than she had thought would be possible.

Ted opened his eyes. "For what?" he asked.

"I… I can't do… I can't do this anymore," she whispered. She'd said it.

"What-"

"This. Us. I'm so sorry. But I can't."

"Why?"

"I'm so sorry. But I can't watch that again. She wouldn't have done that if it wasn't for our little… thing."

Ted looked more upset than she had thought. "Was that all it was for you? A _thing_? How can you say that now? I just sat through the Cruciatus Curse for you! Now you decide to tell me!"

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. She hated how much she was hurting him. But this was best for them both.

"What good is that? I sat there screaming like a girl because… because… I love you. And I thought… you loved me too."

_I do_, she thought. _That's why this has to happen_. But she knew, the only way to make him leave her alone was to lie.

"I… don't love you," she whispered. It felt like a blasphemy. But she had to say it. It was the only way to keep him safe.

She could see in his eyes that her cruel words had done the trick. Trying to stop herself from crying, she stood up and walked towards the tapestry.

"You're lying," he whispered.

"No, I'm not. I'm sorry. But everyone else is right. This can't go on." She had to do better, make him hate her. "I was just…" what were her mother's words? "…using you for practice," she said. Each word was like a blow to her heart. She could only imagine what it was doing to him.

She left the passageway. He didn't try to stop her. She managed to hold her emotions until she was in the safety of her four poster bed. She unclasped the beautiful heart necklace with fumbling fingers and hid it under her pillow. She then lay face down on her bed, and cried more than she had ever done in her life. Onyx, her cat, sensing her misery, curled up next to her, but she hardly noticed.

How could she have said those things, those lies? How could she have hurt him so much? Andromeda knew the answer to this.

She had done it because of the mounting pressure of her friends and family, because she couldn't bear to watch him go through the Cruciatus Curse because of her. And, last of all, she had done it to protect herself, because, in the end, everything we do has a selfish motive.

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**There we go. Sob. She doesn't wallow in self pity for too long. Hope you enjoyed, please review.**


	16. Chapter 15: Duties

**This chapter is a lot more serious than the others. Not quite sure how that happened. So yeah, this one contains more adult themes, and some slightly stronger language than previously used. J.K. Rowling owns.  
**

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Anyone who didn't know Andromeda Black well wouldn't be able to see how miserable she was. She was very good at hiding her feelings, which, in the weeks following the break-up, were in turmoil.

She felt as though a part of her had died. She knew that she was too young for these types of feelings, and kept trying to convince herself that she hadn't really been in love, that it was the excitement of a first time crush that had made her believe she was. It was just a crush, and she would crush it down until there was nothing left. It was nothing. _Nothing._

Yet, a part of her knew that it hadn't just been a crush, it had been real, and she wouldn't get over it in a hurry. She barely slept that night for crying, and over the next few days, she found that she could do very little. She couldn't read her books, as she couldn't bear reading about someone else's romantic happy endings.

The only way she could pass her time was by studying as hard as she could, because while her brain was filled with complex incantations and potions, she couldn't think about the mess her own life was in.

She still often worked in the library, but now sat alone, in a corner far away from her friends. She couldn't bear to look at Ted, and know that any pain he was in at that moment was her fault. Sometimes Catherine or Anwen would come and sit with her, but often she asked them not to.

"Don't feel you have to keep me company," she said to Anwen. "I was the most recent addition to your group. It isn't fair that when I leave, you should too."

"We miss you," Anwen said, looking a little hurt. "It's not nearly as fun without you."

"I miss you too. But I don't think I can inflict my presence on Ted. Not after…"

"What did you say to him?" Anwen asked. "He seems really unhappy."

"I know! He has every right to be," Andromeda said. "I was… horrible. Absolutely horrible to him. But it couldn't carry on."

"I assume your family had something to do with it," Anwen said.

"Yes, they did. But they were right. I'd only be leading him on, because it would never be able to last. I'm only… saving him… and myself from pain."

"It doesn't seem to be working," Anwen said dryly, raising an eyebrow. "But whatever, if you want to sit here in self pity, feel free. But just so you know, Catherine and I are here for you, if you ever want to talk." And with that she left.

Andromeda looked down at the rune translation she was attempting. Of all the subjects, this was her least favourite to study. It reminded her of Ted, and their first study "date". She remembered how she felt, having stood up to Bellatrix to be there. She pushed the memory back down and forced herself to focus on the symbols in front of her. She had an hour until curfew and then she needed to patrol the corridors with Rabastan. She could hardly contain her excitement.

Those patrols were the ones she looked forward to the least. Before her break-up, she would occasionally escape Rabastan's irritating company and join Anwen and David Macmillan, but, much as she wanted to, she didn't think this would happen tonight.

She left the library at five to nine, and waited at the top of the staircase. Twenty minutes later, Rabastan came up the stairs, flicking his dark hair in an irritating way. It was such a showy, attention seeking gesture. _Ted would never have done it,_ she thought in spite of herself.

"Hey there Dromeda," he grinned. She winced slightly at the nickname, but said nothing.

"We're patrolling the first and second floors tonight," she said, without a greeting.

They set off. Andromeda was quickly exasperated with his company. He seemed to feel the need to make conversation with her, and his lack of tact meant that the slow and mundane conversation soon strayed towards topics that she would rather avoid.

"So, it's a shame things didn't work out with you and that mudblood."

"Don't call him that," Andromeda snapped.

"Why do you care?" he asked.

"I just think it's a horrible name to call someone. Anyone."

"But it's all right for us. We're pure blood."

"We still have to show some responsibility and set an example to the other students," Andromeda sighed. Why was she stuck here with yet another muggle-born hating moron? She wished he would shut up and let them patrol in silence.

"Whatever. I'd say you're well rid of him. You're too good for him."

Andromeda rolled her eyes. _He's a better person than you'll ever be_, she thought. She didn't reply however, hoping that her lack of stimulating conversation would convince him to drop the subject.

"You'd be much better off with someone else." Some hope. "That Tonks is such an idiot." Andromeda longed to protest, but that would just spark more conversation. And, she couldn't forget that he may be reporting to his brother, who ultimately would tell Bellatrix.

"He always knocks things over, and he never tucks his shirt in. It's just sloppy." He continued to prattle on for a little while, until her lack of response eventually made him shut up. They reached the second floor without event. Andromeda looked at her watch. Quarter to twelve. Merlin's beard, nearly three hours with him felt like a week.

However, she knew from experience that if they hadn't seen anyone about by now, they probably wouldn't. She suggested that they call it a night and head back to the common room, and was surprised when he agreed.

They walked along the corridor when Rabastan said, "Can you hear something?"

Andromeda listened for a moment. "No," she said.

Rabastan walked towards a closed classroom door. "I thought there was someone in here."

"Let's check then," Andromeda sighed. She opened the door and walked in. "Lumos," she muttered, her wand tip igniting. She couldn't see anyone.

Suddenly the door shut behind her, blocking out the dim light from the corridor. She turned around, about to ask Rabastan what was going on, when he pulled her mouth against his, pushing her back against the wall.

She dropped her wand in surprise and tried to push him off her, but he was stronger, his body pinning her against the wall. His hands were touching her, pawing at her body in a way that made her skin crawl. What was happening? She struggled against him, and finally, doing the only thing she could think of, brought her knee up.

He doubled over in pain, letting go of her. She pushed him so that he fell over, and she was free. She picked up her wand and pointed it at him.

"What the hell was that?" she yelled. She didn't care who heard her.

"Oh come on!" he retorted. "Don't act like some sort of saint. We all know what you did with that filthy mudblood"

"_Don't call him that!_" she shouted, pointing her wand directly between his eyes. She hadn't done anything with Ted which deserved this kind of abuse. Nothing further than kissing.

"I'm sorry!" he snapped, sounding nothing of the sort. "I just thought, if you were happy sleep with a mudblood-"

"I didn't!" she cried. "And don't call him that!"

"-you wouldn't be impartial to doing it with someone of more noble blood," he continued, ignoring her interruption. "Clearly I was wrong!"

Andromeda laughed, but it was without humour. "Clearly. Oh come on Rabastan, when have I ever shown the slightest bit of interest in you? And besides, I didn't sleep with him!"

"Everyone knows you're easy," he snarled.

The words hit her like a slap. Was that really what people thought of her? What happened to the years she had spent looking out for younger students? She supposed that didn't mean anything to the type of people who tormented them in the first place. She wiped her mouth with her hand, wanting to remove all trace of him.

"Do they?" she said, pleased by how her voice shook with anger. It was rare for Andromeda Black to get truly angry, but those words had brought her extremely close.

"Why else would anyone go out with a mudblood?"

"I'll only tell you one more time," she warned him.

"Only one type of girl uses someone like him for practice," he said.

The pain of hearing her own words thrown back at her by this pathetic excuse for a human being was more than he could possibly know. She blinked back hot tears of anger. He could see that she was incapable of a retort and attempted to get to his feet.

"Hold up there. Who says I'm finished?"

"Clearly there's been a misunderstanding," he said.

Andromeda laughed. "That's an understatement."

"It won't happen again," he said.

"Too right it won't."

"I didn't realise you were such a frigid cow," he snapped.

Andromeda felt a surge of anger. So she went out with a muggle-born, that made her a slut? She didn't want to go out with this despicable specimen of a human being, so she was a prude?

"What's to stop me from cursing you so badly no woman will be able to look at you without fainting?" she said angrily.

To her immense fury, he didn't say anything. He looked at her, and chuckled darkly.

"What's so funny," she asked threateningly.

"It's just that you're more like your sister than you know," he said smugly.

That did it. "_Furnunculus_!" she shouted, and watched with a sick pleasure as his face erupted in boils. She ran out of the door, and straight into David Macmillan, who was about to open it. Anwen was stood just behind him.

"Dromeda?" she said tentatively, noticing that her friend's eyes were filled with angry tears. "We were going back to our common room… we heard shouting…"

Andromeda couldn't bear the thought of explaining it to them. She ran past her friend, realising too late that she was going in the wrong direction. Oh well. There was a passageway not far along the corridor that came out in a broom cupboard by the courtyard.

She ran towards it, barely registering where she was going, not stopping until she was in the corridor next to the row of disused classrooms. She paused for a minute to catch her breath, then made her way to the common room, ignoring the calls of her friends, and went straight to her four poster, where she curled up on her bed, sobbing with anger at Rabastan and herself.

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**Hope that wasn't too dramatic for you. Only a couple more chapters of self pity. And, hopefully, they aren't too dreary. Thanks for reading, you lovely people!  
**


	17. Chapter 16: Rumours

***WARNING* contains wizard swears. J.K. Rowling owns.  
**

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"Is it true?"

It was the morning after her encounter with Rabastan, and Andromeda was not in the mood to listen to gossip. She was sat in the common room, trying to finish her Defence against the Dark Arts essay and ignore her pounding headache, and the occasional whisper pointed in her direction.

"Is what true?" she snapped.

Isabelle looked slightly hurt. "That you tried to snog Rabastan Lestrange, and when he turned you down, you hexed him?"

That son-of-a-banshee. She should have known he'd twist what had happened. Now that his version was out, no one would believe her. They'd assume she was trying to cover her own back.

"I'm insulted that you think I'd stoop that low," Andromeda snapped.

"I was only asking," Isabelle said. "You came running in yesterday, crying your eyes out, then he turns up, and tells us you tried to snog him! What were we supposed to think?"

"I thought you might know me better." How could she even think it possible? "What actually happened, not that you'll believe me, is that _he _tried to snog _me_, and when I got him off and asked him what the hell he was doing, he managed to insult me more than I thought possible. If that doesn't merit a good hex, I don't know what does." Andromeda finished, slightly louder than she meant to. "I can't believe you think I'd actually be interested in that creep."

"Well," said Isabelle. "I must admit that makes slightly more sense. I didn't think that you liked him."

"I detest him," Andromeda said, shuddering at the memory of his hands touching her. "He's absolutely vile."

"But you had to admit, what he said seemed plausible in the situation."

"Yes. Curse him for thinking up a logical excuse," Andromeda muttered. "No-one's going to believe me now that he's told you his version. People already think I'm a slut because I went out with Ted. You could have told me that's what people are saying."

"I tried to," Isabelle protested.

"I suppose. I just didn't want to listen at that point. Still, it hurt to hear it from someone like him."

"I'd imagine it did. If you want I'll try to convince people of your story."

"Thanks," Andromeda said. The girl did seem genuine. "It's nice to know someone still believes me. But I don't think it'll do any good."

"I'll still try," Isabelle said. Andromeda felt tears rising. She hugged her friend, grateful that at least one person was on her side.

Andromeda continued with her essay, and after a short while, she realised that she needed to check some of her points in the library. Her heart sinking to somewhere in her stomach, she left the common room, trying to ignore the stares of her fellow Slytherins.

She found the book she needed in the library and sat alone at a table. She hadn't been working for more than five minutes when she was alerted to a muttered conversation between several people she really did not want to see.

"I can't believe she didn't want to snog me."

"Trust me she's never known what's best for her."

"But how can she kiss that filthy mudblood and not me?"

"I don't know little brother. Maybe she picked up some horrible disease or something, that's addled her mind."

Andromeda closed her eyes as her sister cackled with mirth at Rudolphus' comment.

"Don't worry. Just keep telling people she tried it on first. No-one will believe her over you," Bellatrix said. "Everyone's already against her because of that mudblood."

"She's crazy," Rabastan spat. "I'm from a good, noble family. And she still prefers that mudblood! You should have heard her defend him, anyone would think they were still together."

"Oh they aren't. I made sure they aren't," Bellatrix snarled.

"It's disgusting," Rudolphus said. "She tarnishes your family name."

"Oh, she won't be part of our family if she doesn't sort herself out and start acting like a proper Black," Bellatrix reassured him. "It's disgusting, the way she was carrying on with that piece of filth. Rest assured, she'll be wiped off the tree if it continues."

Andromeda couldn't listen any longer. She picked up her work and stormed out of the library. She walked aimlessly; unaware of where she was going. She didn't care, she just had to keep moving.

Hearing her sister talk about her like that… it made her think about the way she'd been behaving, and how other people would see her. She was a Slytherin, part of one of the most stuck-up, blood-elitist families in the Wizarding world, and she was to be seen kissing a muggle-born in broad daylight!

No wonder people thought it was a joke, that she was some sort of irresponsible, reckless slut, who was fair game for anyone. No one would think any deeper beyond the face of the matter, to the real feelings of the people behind the gossip. Particularly not the people her sister socialised with.

Andromeda almost laughed to herself. They were completely incapable of seeing muggle-borns as people, with qualities and personality types that might attract another person. No, in her sister's eyes they were all animals.

And, what with Bellatrix Black being one of the most influential and most feared students in the school, her opinion, in the Slytherin common room at least, was law. She told her little posse of twisted muggle-born hating maniacs what to think, and they agreed mindlessly.

But still, Andromeda thought, her sister's reputation was famous throughout the school. That meant that anything she herself did was brought into the public eye. Despite her quiet early years, her kindness towards younger students, her previous respect as a prefect, her reputation had been destroyed by her relationship with Ted.

_And it was worth every minute of it,_ she thought savagely. Still, she couldn't regain the respect she had earned. It was gone forever, with Bellatrix forcing it back if it ever tried to resurface.

She leaned against the cold stone wall of the corridor. Her life was a mess. Everyone hated her, in Slytherin at least, and Ted did too, which hurt most of all. No one respected her, now that that piece of hippogriff crap had started spreading lies about her. And every time she thought of her next prefect duty with Rabastan, she felt sick to her stomach.

Her emotions were running wild. She wanted to hide, to disappear. She didn't want to spend evenings patrolling with Rabastan, and she didn't think that anyone would respect her decisions anymore. She couldn't be a prefect anymore. She couldn't represent her house, and her year if everyone hated her.

She looked up. She was standing in front of a stone gargoyle, which looked at her with an almost quizzical expression. She'd heard something about a gargoyle. And… Dumbledore! This gargoyle led to his office! She should go to him immediately, and give up her position as Prefect.

"Erm… can I see the Headmaster please?" she asked it. The gargoyle remained motionless. "I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore," she rephrased. "Can you… let me see him… please?" The gargoyle didn't move.

"May I help you, Miss Black?" came a voice from behind her. Andromeda spun around. There, striding towards her, was the man that she wanted to see.

"Professor. I… I'd like to speak with you… please," she said, unsure how to phrase her request. She had never spoken directly to the Headmaster before.

"Certainly. Might I suggest we relocate to my office?" he said. "It offers far more privacy than the corridor."

"Yes sir," Andromeda said meekly.

Dumbledore turned to the gargoyle. "Sugar Quill," he said.

The gargoyle sprung to life, to reveal a spiral staircase. Andromeda followed Professor Dumbledore up the stairs towards his office.

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**I promise there are only a few more chapters of hearbreak and misery.  
**

**As I haven't said it in a while, thanks to my wonderful reviewers, ****HogwartsDreamer113**, **Chibi-Lill,** **TheMoonIsLowTonight-funkyfish**, **narniaandharrypotter4ever**, **iheartweasleytwins**, **SiriuslySlytherin17, AKToad, ****HereForRhona, and Haraxniss, for being my lovely, loyal reviewers. You guys are amazing. Thankyou.**  



	18. Chapter 17: Words of Wisdom

**J.K. Rowling owns.  
**

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"Well, Miss Black," said Dumbledore, as he sat himself behind his handsome desk. Andromeda didn't answer straight away. She was entranced by the wonderfully interesting room in which she stood. Many fascinating silver objects surrounded the room, and on an ornate perch, a beautiful red and gold bird, a phoenix, she realised, was sleeping with its head under its wing.

The walls were covered in portraits of pompous and intelligent-looking witches and wizards, all sleeping peacefully. She could have sworn she recognised her great-great grandfather Phineas Nigellus, snoozing in a corner, perking up at the mention of her name.

Professor Dumbledore followed her gaze. He pulled out his wand, and a pair of thick, fluffy earmuffs appeared in the painting.

"I assume you wish this to be a private conversation," he said lightly. "May I suggest that you sit down?" He indicated the chair opposite his. Andromeda took her seat and stared down at her hands. "What is it that you would like to discuss?" he enquired.

"I… I don't think I can be a prefect anymore.," Andromeda said quietly.

"I see," replied Dumbledore. "Would you like to tell me why?"

"I just… don't think that I can do it anymore," she said hopelessly.

"Is this the result of your patrol last night?" he asked, waving away her protests. "I know a considerable amount about the goings-on in this school. And I have been watching you with interest this year."

Andromeda was shocked. "Why?" she asked.

Dumbledore stood and began to pace the room. "You are a fairly memorable student Miss Black. Not least following your sister's reputation. I feared when you arrived at this school that you would be… ah, how to phrase this? Similar to her. However, upon hearing other teacher's observations of you, I began to realise that this was not the case.

'I have watched as you struggled to break free of her influence, and form a reputation of your own. I appointed you prefect because of your kindness towards other students, and the respect that you held amongst your fellow students. I could not think of a more worthy candidate for prefect, and I was interested, I confess, to observe how you accepted this new responsibility."

"Oh." Andromeda couldn't think of what to say. "Things have changed."

"I was also interested," he continued, "I confess, by your relationship with Mr Tonks." Andromeda blushed. "It defies everything which I was sure you mush have been taught from birth, and shows your respect for all people, no matter who their family are. I have to admit, that this intrigued me. You are very different from your sister, Miss Black, and that is to your benefit, despite what others might say."

"I don't understand professor. If I were more like her, I wouldn't have to stop being a prefect," Andromeda said.

"If you were more like her, I doubt that I would have appointed you prefect in the first place," he said. "Without wishing to sound like an overly interested old fool, was it the influence of your sister, along with your mother's untimely illness, which made you end the relationship?"

Andromeda was surprised that he had, not only made that leap, but been interested enough to do so. It was a little strange, but in an odd way, she was glad to be able to talk about it with someone other than her friends. "I suppose so, yes. They made me see reason."

"Ah, reason," Dumbledore sighed, "is not always as reasonable as one might think."

"What do you mean by that sir?" Andromeda asked.

"What seems reasonable differs from person to person. It is surprising how easy it can be to bend a person to your way of thinking."

"I didn't think how I might be affecting the family. I was… selfish."

"From what I've seen, I don't think you really care about that," Dumbledore said. "I think that you are scared of their reactions. But from what I've seen of your character, you don't uphold the principles of family honour to the same extent as the rest of your family."

Andromeda was about to protest, when she realised that actually, this was a fair judgement. She realised that she didn't really care about family honour. She had never quite been the same as her family, and over last few months she had been growing further apart from them. She had realised their principles were ridiculous, and that it didn't matter about blood status.

"I've said it before, and I've no doubt that I'll say it again, it matters not what a person is born, but what they grow to be," Professor Dumbledore continued. "I often find that the most decent of people are those who understand that respect is not a given right, it must be earned. You, Miss Black, seem to have understood this from the moment you set foot in this castle. I have watched you earn respect from many of your fellow students, and despite recent events, I think that the respect of those who really matter will remain."

Andromeda looked at him. He had stopped pacing, and was watching her with his penetrating blue eyes.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to resign as prefect. I think that the best way to set an example to your fellow students is to not give up. If I myself had given up when I faced opposition, I would not be having this conversation. You are a strong, brave and intelligent person. I have no doubt that you will find a way to get through this situation."

Andromeda blushed. "Thank you," she said. "But I don't think I'm brave."

"I must disagree with you there Miss Black. You know, sometimes, I think we may sort too soon." He trailed off into a reverie.

"Thank you professor. I really should be going now," Andromeda said awkwardly, standing up.

"Yes, of course. I'll see what we can do with regards to the situation of prefect duties. I assume you would prefer not to patrol with Mr Lestrange?"

"Yes… thanks," Andromeda said, making her way to the door.

"One more thing, Miss Black." Andromeda turned around. "Sometimes a wrong decision, made for the right reasons, is not a wrong decision at all. It is much worse to make what may seem like the right decision, for the wrong reasons. I advise you that, in some cases, the right reasons are the ones which make you, and those you love happy."

"I'll… bear that in mind," Andromeda stuttered, feeling thoroughly confused.

"Goodnight, Miss Black."

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**If that sounds a little confusing, don't worry all is explained in the next chapter... sort of... Thankyou to my wonderful readers and reviewers for reading this story. You make me smile with every review :)  
**


	19. Chapter 18: True Friends

**I know a lot of people were confused by Dumbledore's last words. I hope this chapter makes it less confusig. J.K. Rowling owns.  
**

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Andromeda suffered no more encounters with people she wished to avoid. Except for Isabelle, most of her house ignored her, resorting to stares and whispers, and for that she found she was grateful.

She was also grateful for Anwen and Catherine. She was working alone in the library when they both sat either side of her.

"That Rabastan Lestrange is a lying piece of crap," Anwen said quietly. "I heard you arguing, I heard what you said. David did too. We believe you."

"I do too," Catherine added, "and so do the rest of us. You never could stand him. And it's obvious you're still not over Ted."

Andromeda thought about this. Before, she may have argued. But now, after her enlightening, if confusing conversation with Dumbledore, she felt more open-minded.

"I went to speak to Dumbledore last night," she admitted.

"Really?" Anwen's eyes were wide. "I've never spoken directly to him before."

"Why did you want to speak to him?" Catherine asked.

Andromeda explained about overhearing her sister's conversation. "I was already in a bit of a state," she admitted. "I suppose I went a bit crazy. I convinced myself that I should resign from being a prefect."

"No!" Anwen cried. "You're a brilliant prefect! People seem to really respect you."

"It's true," Catherine said. "People trust you. And you aren't afraid to look out for people."

"Maybe… maybe I just needed to talk to someone," Andromeda admitted. "I've been so confused, what with Ted, and that whole episode with Rabastan. I've been a complete emotional wreck, and I'm sorry you had to put up with it."

"What else are friends for?" Anwen asked.

This made Andromeda realise the difference between her friend's reactions. They had automatically disbelieved what they knew had to be a lie. Isabelle had automatically believed the worst of her. She supposed that was putting it too harshly. But she had still formed her first judgments based on rumour, rather than attempting to speak to Andromeda herself, or thinking about her friend's personality and realising that what Rabastan was saying couldn't possibly be true.

Andromeda could feel tears welling. She pulled both of her friends into tight hug. "Thank you. For believing me."

"No problem," Anwen said. "So anyway, tell us what Dumbledore said."

"He gave me some very confusing advice about making decisions. That a right decision made for the wrong reasons was worse than a wrong decision made for the right reasons."

Anwen looked confused, but Catherine said, "He's got a point you know."

"I couldn't really understand what he meant," Andromeda confessed. "He likes to make everything very wordy."

"Well, think of it this way. Breaking up with Ted may be the right decision if you look at the cold, hard facts. But, if doing it makes you both so bloody miserable, is it really the right decision?"

Andromeda hadn't thought of that. "I thought that I'd get over it," she said.

"Well, you clearly haven't. And neither has he. I know it's only been a few weeks. But I think that breaking up with someone because of your family is a wrong reason."

"It's more complicated than that," Andromeda muttered.

"But, in this case, the right reason to make a decision is what makes you happy," Catherine said. "Your family should respect that. They should want what's best for you." Anwen nodded in agreement. "Anyway, there's a fine line between the wrong decision and the right decision. It depends on your angle."

Andromeda stared at her. Clearly this girl was sorted into the right house. "But then, does making a wrong decision for the right reasons make it a right decision?" Her head was spinning.

"Well, look at it this way. The right reason to make your decision is what makes you happy, and the people you care about happy. The wrong reason to make a decision is because it's what other people tell you to do. Now, it depends on what you think is the right decision. If you look at all the facts and stuff, it may seem like the right decision is to break up with Ted, which you did. But, you need to think about why you did it, and ask yourself, are those really the right reasons? And if they aren't, then it isn't really the right decision is it?"

Andromeda was still a little confused.

"You were perfectly happy with Ted," Catherine continued. "Until your mother got sick. Now, I'm guessing she used the 'I'm on my deathbed' card to guilt trip you into seeing things differently. To seeing things her way."

"I suppose you're right. But it wasn't just that."

"Tell us what happened then," Anwen begged.

Andromeda looked around. "Not here," she said. "Let's get some air."

The three girls went to the grounds. It was an unseasonably warm day, and they sat beside the lake. There, Andromeda began to describe her encounter with Bellatrix.

"I was already being persuaded to break up with him. I suppose you're right, my mother made me blind. While I was with him, I forgot all the reasons I had. They didn't really make sense to begin with, and when I was with him, they seemed so stupid. But Bellatrix brought them all back, and I couldn't ignore them. Watching her torture him… I would have preferred it if she had done it to me instead. I broke up with him because I couldn't bear for that to happen again… because of me."

Anwen smiled. "That doesn't sound like a girl who's given up on a boy."

"No," Andromeda agreed. "I suppose it doesn't."

"Can I give you some advice?" Catherine asked.

"Of course."

"I think you need to sort out your head. You need to weigh up the benefits of going out with Ted against the disadvantages. And then you can decide properly."

"Are there any disadvantages?" Anwen asked.

Andromeda laughed. "Family will disown me, reputation amongst Slytherins will be ruined, Bellatrix will skin him alive and make me watch, then skin me alive too," she said, counting them off on her fingers.

"And the benefits?" Catherine said.

Andromeda thought for a moment. She closed her eyes, remembering all that she had felt for him, that deep down, she still felt for him. The way he always knocked things over, the way he ran his hand through his hair when he was stressed, the way his eyes sparkled when they looked at her. She still loved him. Now that she was being totally honest with herself, it was obvious. She had been swayed by her mother's situation and harsh words, and the pain of watching her sister torture him.

She suddenly felt free, as if this realisation had lifted the lead weight from her stomach, where, she realised, it had been settled since her conversation with her mother. Her emotions had made her confused and vulnerable, which had led her to be easily swayed by others opinions.

She realised that she truly didn't care what her parents thought. She had been growing apart from them for years, and now she realised that they didn't truly care for her happiness, only their own reputation. _Well,_ she thought, _I care about my happiness. And so do my true friends._

She realised what Catherine had been trying to explain. There was really no right or wrong decision. She couldn't make the right decision for everyone, for her family, her friends, and Ted. What she needed to do was make the right decision for her, the one that made her happiest. Everyone else would have to fall into line with that. If they didn't, then maybe she was better off without them.

The right reason to make her decision was the one that made her feel happiest. And, in this case, what may seem like the wrong decision, because it hurt her family, was actually not the wrong decision at all.

Her friends, watching her, smiled to one another.

"If it were up to me," Andromeda said, "the answer is obvious. But… I don't think he'll take me back. And rightly so. I was horrible to him. I thought, at the time, that it was the only way to get him to accept my decision, to make him hate me, so that he wouldn't love me any more."

Her heart sank. He wouldn't want to be with her any more, not after those horrible things she'd said. He would be well within his rights to hate her.

"We'll just have to see how it pans out," Catherine said.

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**I hope that's straightened everything out. If it hasn't let me know and I can work on the explanation. Basically, I wanted to show that what seems like the wrong decision is actually the right decision, and with things like this, you should do what's best for you.  
**

**Thanks to the amazing people who've reviewed, the wonderful people who've favourited or put this story on their alerts, and to everyone who's read this story, and made it worth me putting it up.  
**


	20. Chapter 19: The Greatest Gift

**Sorry it's taken longer than usual to update. I was getting into a rhythm of one a day :) However, it was my year 11 prom yesterday, so I was pretty busy. J.K. Rowling owns.  
**

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As spring continued to arrive in earnest, the workload of the fifth years increased tenfold. Andromeda, although feeling more positive about the situation, having sorted out her feelings, had still not spoken to Ted, nor had he spoken to her.

Ancient Runes lessons were the most difficult to get through. He no longer sat with her, but it was the only lesson in which she was still in fairly close proximity to him, and watching him stare resolutely at his work was almost too much to bear. She knew that she should just talk to him, but some sort of twisted pride prevented her from saying the words 'I'm Sorry'.

She was eternally grateful that she no longer had prefect duties with the loathsome Rabastan. She avoided him as much as possible, although now and then she could still feel his eyes on her. On the whole, the gossip about her had stopped. The students seem to have got bored of it, or just forgotten, as they usually did. She kept her head down, and concentrated on her vast amounts of work and her duties, which she now performed alone, or with Anwen.

She mostly worked alone, although sometimes Catherine or Anwen would sit with her, and, on occasion, Isabelle. Andromeda was glad to see the Slytherin girls finally putting some more work in. While she was nowhere near as happy as she had been with Ted, life was improving. She felt better having talked with her friends, and that, she supposed, was a lesson to her in the values of confiding in her friends.

The end of April brought Andromeda's sixteenth birthday. She hadn't planned on celebrating it, other than by dealing with a mountainous potions essay. On the morning of the twenty-fifth, Andromeda wasn't expecting anything from her family. She wasn't disappointed. A solitary card from Sirius was on her bedside table.

_ Mum went mad over your boyfriend. Good on you!_ Andromeda smiled. Clearly her family were still angry about Ted, despite the fact that Bella had probably told them that it was over. _Still_, she thought,_ it would have been nice for them to at least acknowledge._

It being a Saturday, the Great Hall was fairly quiet. Her Slytherin friends were all sleeping in, so Andromeda ate alone, at an empty patch of table. She mostly looked down at her toast, but at one point she looked up, and her eyes immediately fell on Ted. She could have sworn he had been looking at her. However, as she looked up, he knocked over a jug of milk, and hurriedly looked away. Andromeda sighed.

As she left the Great Hall, with a vague plan to go to the library, she was ambushed by Anwen and Catherine.

"Happy Birthday!" Anwen cried. "Come on, it's a lovely day. Let's go outside for a bit."

Andromeda followed them out into the brilliant sunshine. The three of them sat beside the lake. It was the kind of day where one can sense spring merging into summer, and the last thing anyone wanted to do was be locked inside studying.

"Here," Anwen said, handing Andromeda a wrapped package. She opened it to find a small bottle of perfume. She pulled the stopper from the bottle. It smelt exotic, like tropical flowers.

"Thank you," Andromeda said, hugging her friend. She applied some to her wrists, savouring the sweet scent.

"Here's one from me," Catherine said, handing her a rectangle package. Andromeda opened it. Inside was a book, another muggle classic. "I know how much you like reading muggle fiction," Catherine said. "I read this one and loved it. I thought you might enjoy it."

Andromeda hugged her as well. "Thank you," she said. They spent the remainder of the morning sitting by the lake, talking, before retiring to the library after lunch to get started on some work.

All through the afternoon, Andromeda couldn't help looking up every time someone entered the library. They were joined by a few others, David, Hector, Janie but not Ted. It took Andromeda half an hour to even admit to herself that she was waiting for him.

She wanted to talk to him, to pluck up the courage to apologise. She felt terribly guilty for the things she had said, and having now sorted her emotions out, she realised that she still wasn't over him, no more than she had been a week after they broke up.

Still, as he didn't appear, she assumed he probably wouldn't. She hadn't really expected him to. He never did, while she was there, and she felt guilty because of this. But she couldn't stop herself from hoping.

Before dinner, Andromeda went up to her dormitory to drop off her books. There, on her bed was a bird, made from folded parchment. She picked it up, but at her touch, it unfolded. With a jolt she recognised the handwriting, and her heart began to beat faster. It took her five minutes to pluck up the courage to read it.

_Dear Andromeda,_

_ Happy Birthday. You may be surprised that I remembered, but if you read the rest of this letter, you'll realise it isn't that strange at all._

_ I was really hurt by the things you said that night. It was like you had read my mind, and taken all the things I was most scared of, and said them straight to my face. _

_ But then I managed to uncloud my judgement to think about why you had done it. And I realised that being with me would mean you would lose your family. And I could never ask you to do that for me. _

_ I also realised what it was doing to your reputation among the Slytherins, particularly after I heard what that arse Lestrange did. I could have killed him for that (Though from what I hear, you did a pretty good job yourself). You need to be on good terms with the Slytherins. They're your house, after all, and they expect so much from you._

_ Just one last thing. I want to apologise for avoiding you these past few weeks. I didn't want you to feel alone when you're vulnerable, so I've been sitting with other friends. I just thought that there would be less gossip if we stayed away from one another. I also didn't want you to feel reminded of your mistakes. And, I've got to admit, it's been hard for me to be with you, because it reminds me of losing you._

_ I want you to know that you're a funny, compassionate, intelligent, brave and beautiful person, and I mean that on the inside, not just the outside. You will always find someone. But, just so you know, I still and always will love you. _

_Be happy_

_Lots of Love_

_Ted_

It took several re-reads for the words to sink in. By the time Andromeda had understood, she couldn't think straight. Only one thing was on her mind, _he still loves me_. That thought made her feel happier than she had thought was possible. _I need to tell him,_ she thought. A letter would be the easiest way, but this was the sort of thing that had to be done face to face.

She went to the Great Hall, and spent the entire meal watching Ted. Eventually, he got up, and she stood up to follow him, leaving half of her pudding behind. She prayed he wouldn't go straight to the Hufflepuff common room. Luckily, he walked into the courtyard, which was bathed in a golden glow of early evening sun. She carried on following him as he made his way towards the grounds.

Finally, he stopped. "You don't have to keep following me," he said.

Andromeda smiled, pleased to hear his mellow voice again. It was like music to her ears. "You're right," she said. "I'm sorry."

He turned around, looking at her almost sadly. "It's good to see you again," he said softly.

"Likewise," Andromeda said. For a few moments they both just looked at each other, then, at exactly the same moment, both spoke.

Ted smiled. "You first," he said.

"I… I got your letter," Andromeda said, momentarily distracted by those blue eyes.

"Oh," Ted replied. He looked down at his shoes, embarrassed.

"And… and I wanted to apologise. For what I said." This had to be done. Forget pride. "It wasn't true. I had to get you to hate me, so that you'd leave me alone."

"It very nearly worked, " Ted said.

"Right. I thought it was for your own good, and mine too I suppose, if we stopped seeing each other. I wanted to protect you, but I wanted to protect me too." Ted said nothing, still looking at his shoes as though his life depended on it. She forced herself to go on. "I couldn't bear watching you be tortured. I managed to convince myself that by ending it now, I was saving us both pain later on, before it got too deep." Still he didn't say anything. "But I was wrong. I was already in too deep." That made him look up.

"You know, nothing you said could make me hate you," he said quietly. "I… love you too much." Andromeda closed her eyes. Ted laughed. "Oh God, how lame does that sound?"

"Not at all," Andromeda said. She moved slightly closer to him.

"Wait," he said. "What about… you know. Your family and stuff? Family ties aren't something to just throw away. They're important too."

"I've realised that I could be without my family. They don't really care about my happiness, only that I enhance the family reputation by behaving the way they want me to."

"Think about this though. Can you really just turn your back on them? I don't think I could be responsible for that. You're family after all. You're-"

But the rest of his sentence was cut off, as Andromeda threw her arms around him and kissed him. He responded in kind, putting his arms around her and pulling her close to him. Finally, Andromeda felt as though she'd come home. This was where she belonged.

*******.*.*.*.*.***

**And so the misery ends. Just a couple more chapters to go.  
**

**I've been asked whether I'm going to write their sixth and seventh years and the early years of their marriage etc. This story ends after their fifth year. However, if I get enough interest, I may write a sequel...  
**

**Thanks again to my lovely reviewers, ********nik-edward is my love, HogwartsDreamer113**, **Chibi-Lill,** **TheMoonIsLowTonight-funkyfish**, **narniaandharrypotter4ever**, **iheartweasleytwins**, **SiriuslySlytherin17, AKToad, ****HereForRhona, and Haraxniss, for being so amazing.**  



	21. Chapter 20: Loose Ends

** J.K. Rowling owns.  
**

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Words couldn't describe how happy Andromeda felt. She felt like she was flying most of the time. Even thoughts of Bellatrix couldn't cloud her happiness.

She was going to be more careful this time. As she and Ted had sat by the lake, they had discussed it, and decided to keep a low profile, at least until the summer, when Bellatrix would be finishing at Hogwarts. It wasn't that long, and it wasn't hard to pretend that they were innocently working together in the library, not with all the homework and revision they were now expected to do.

Of course, she couldn't help but tell Catherine and Anwen, both of whom were ecstatic. They promised to keep it as quiet as possible. She also felt that the rest of the library crowd must have guessed, what with both of them suddenly being able to sit at a table together, but, tactful that they were, they didn't mention it.

Judging by Isabelle's lack of comment, she assumed that no one had guessed, for which she was glad. If she could make it through the summer without her parents finding out, by next summer she'd be of age, and able to do whatever she liked. The thought made her smile.

She found that she didn't really care any more about her reputation, or respect. Dumbledore had been right, the respect of the people who really mattered had stayed. And besides, worrying about respect was the sort of thing that Bellatrix did.

There were few opportunities however, for her and Ted to flaunt their relationship, even if they had wanted to. As May passed, the O.W.L.s loomed closer, bringing with them a bout of stress-induced illnesses amongst the fifth years. Andromeda wasn't too worried however, she had been working so hard all year, and that had to pay off somehow. Now that she was happy, she also found that her grades were picking up again, after having a small decline after her break up. The extra hours she spent working, mostly so that she could be with Ted, had to be helping as well.

However, one day, only two weeks before the exams, Andromeda, Ted, Catherine and Anwen were working together. Andromeda was leaning against Ted, checking through his Ancient Runes translation, whilst he corrected her Herbology essay, when a voice interrupted them.

"Andromeda?" It was Isabelle. She looked surprised to see her friend looking so close with what she had thought was her ex-boyfriend.

Andromeda sat up. "Isabelle, hi," she said awkwardly.

"What're you doing?" she asked accusingly.

Andromeda looked at her friends. There was no way to explain it. "Can… can we speak privately?" she asked.

Isabelle nodded. Andromeda got up, squeezing Ted's hand quickly, before leading her friend to a corner of the library.

"Are you two dating again?" Isabelle whispered, sounding a little angry.

Andromeda closed her eyes. "Yes. Yes we are."

"We've been through this already! Your sister will kill you!"

"I-I don't care," Andromeda said. "You must have noticed, I was miserable without him!"

"Everyone's going to be talking about this!" Isabelle whispered.

"No, they're not," Andromeda said forcefully. "Because no-one's going to know. Please Isabelle. Keep this a secret? At least until next year. Please?" Andromeda looked at her pleadingly.

Eventually Isabelle sighed. "All right then," she said. "For you. I won't tell anyone. I don't want to hear people talking about you like that again."

"Thank you!" Andromeda cried, hugging her friend. "What are you doing in the library? Do you need help with anything?"

"I was looking for you. I'm having trouble with the Transfiguration homework. I thought you could help me," Isabelle said.

"I had trouble with it too. Hey, why don't you ask Catherine about it? She's much better than I am, and she was really helpful when I did it." Isabelle looked wary. "It's ok," Andromeda said, "She's half-blood. You don't need to be afraid to be seen with her."

"I wasn't," Isabelle said, but she looked slightly embarrassed.

"Come on," Andromeda pleaded. "It would help you. They're really nice. You don't have to speak to Ted if you don't want to. But he's a really nice guy, I'm sure if you spoke to him you'd realise that."

"Ok! Ok I'll come and sit with you. I'm not saying I'll talk to him though!" Isabelle warned.

"I can live with that," Andromeda sad, relieved. If she could at least get her friend to tolerate him, perhaps the next few years wouldn't be so bad.

The two of them went back to the table. "Hey Catherine," Andromeda said. "Isabelle was wondering if you could go through the Transfiguration. What bit were you stuck on?"

Isabelle explained, and soon Catherine was showing her what to do. Andromeda smiled, she could see that Isabelle liked her. They had never really spoken properly together before, only vaguely in passing. Andromeda was glad to see them getting on.

By nine o'clock, they were all tired. Andromeda and Isabelle walked to the common room together.

"What did you think?" Andromeda asked. "Catherine's all right isn't she?"

"Yeah," Isabelle said. "She seemed nice. She was really helpful. Thanks for asking her to help me."

"That's alright," Andromeda said, secretly thrilled that they had got on well. "Promise you won't tell?" she added. "About Ted?"

Isabelle paused for a moment. "No. I won't. I could see you were happy with him."

"I am. I promise we won't flaunt it. Thanks, by the way. For sitting with us. It means a lot to me."

"Well, for the record, I thought Ted seems like an ok guy."

"Thanks. That means a lot."

* * *

June brought a bout of summer rain, meaning that the fifth years had no distraction from their exams, which were upon them at last.

On the whole, she thought she had done all right. Her Charms exam had gone well, and she was fairly confident after Ancient Runes, Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. Potions didn't go too badly either, but she felt that the Transfiguration could have gone better, as could Defence Against the Dark Arts. However, judging by other people's reactions (discounting the Ravenclaws of course), she felt that she had done relatively well.

Soon enough, she found only History of Magic barring the path to freedom. Just one hour of answering questions about long-dead people and she'd be free. Her notes were stacked two feet high as she sat in the Slytherin common room the night before the exam, struggling to commit to memory the long forgotten events that shaped their magical history. Really, did it actually matter who escaped witch-burning, or what caused the goblin riots? It was all in the past.

The exam itself was long and tedious. The sky outside was the colour of forget-me-nots, and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. The sun shone through the enchanted ceiling and high windows of the Great Hall, making the room hot and stuffy. Andromeda almost fell asleep several times. Looking surreptitiously around, she could see many people not even bothering to write, simply staring straight ahead, no doubt daydreaming of post-exam parties and relaxing in the grounds.

Andromeda tried to focus on her paper. She really didn't want to fail an exam, even History of Magic. She wanted to do well. However, when the examiner announced the end of the exam, she couldn't help cheering along with the rest of her year.

The fifth year students left the Great Hall as fast as they could. Andromeda located Catherine and Anwen, and eventually, Ted, who promised to catch them up, disappearing into the group of students walking towards the Hufflepuff common room. The three girls, along with the group from the library, made their way out into the grounds, choosing to sit on a sun-drenched bank of the lake, away from other people.

Ted joined them half an hour later, along with Hector Turpin, their arms laden with pumpkin juice, cakes and pastries and fresh bread, obviously obtained from the kitchens. They had even brought a picnic blanket. As they all tucked in, talking happily, exhilarated to be free from exams at last, Andromeda looked around at each of the faces in the group; David, Hector, Janie, Jeremiah, Anwen, Catherine, and finally Ted.

_They're a good group of friends to have_, she thought. Some, admittedly, she didn't know exceptionally well, but she couldn't wait to know them further. She leaned against Ted, closing her eyes, savouring the feel of his warm body next to hers. She loved the feeling of simply being one with this group, not a Slytherin, not a Black, simply herself, Andromeda.

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**********nik-edward is my love, HogwartsDreamer113**, **Chibi-Lill,** **TheMoonIsLowTonight-funkyfish**, **narniaandharrypotter4ever**, **iheartweasleytwins**, **SiriuslySlytherin17, AKToad, ****HereForRhona, and Haraxniss, you guys rock. Thankyou for sharing your opinions, and being so supportive.**  



	22. Epilogue

** Here it is. The final chapter. The epilogue. It's been so much fun writing this, and I'm going to miss hearing your opinions. As usual, J.K. Rowling owns.  
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_Memories of those days fill me with warmth, followed by an aching in my heart. Because they are lost forever. My Ted is gone, where he can't come back. _

_ I know that we were lucky. We had nearly thirty years together. They weren't always easy, but then, life never is. Thirty years of near perfection. As close as it got. As close as one could get, what with You-Know-Who rising to power._

_ There are some days when I can barely get out of bed in the mornings. Sometimes, I feel as though there is nothing left. The Death Eaters took them away, my husband, my daughter, a little boy, already handsome, complaining that his brother always beat him at Wizard Chess, the brother of that little boy, who tried his best to bring down the darkest wizard of all time._

_ Sometimes, I feel so alone in the despair that I can hardly get up._

_ But I always do. I have a reason for existence, something that I know many people were deprived of. My grandson, my little Teddy, with his grandfather's name, and his mother's extraordinary talent, and, I hope, his father's courage. I try not to look at him, and see what I have lost. Instead, I look at him, and see the most amazing gift that can be given, the gift of life._

_ Who would have thought that such an extraordinary person could be brought into existence? And yet, against all the odds, he was. I can't wait to tell him all about his family._

_ There was a time, right after the war, when I first heard of the deaths of my daughter and her husband, when I blamed myself. I still do in a way. _

_ I try, when I close my eyes, not to remember that terrible night, when so many were lost, when I sent my daughter to her death._

* * *

Dora just can't sit still. She's pacing the room anxiously, fidgeting with anxiety, her hair flickering from red, to blue, to bright pink. She picks up her tiny son, just a few months old, cradling him gently.

I'm busy knitting Teddy a jumper. It's one of the things I do to keep my mind from wandering. The rhythm and monotony of it builds up a wall between sanity and the howling wilderness beyond. But Dora is making me anxious too.

"For goodness sake! Nymphadora Lupin, if you're that worried, just go and join them!"

My daughter's head snaps up. I almost regret my outburst. "Will you look after Teddy for me?" she asks.

I nod. She puts down her son and heads for the door. "Dora," I call after her. She turns around. "I love you," I say, holding her close to me. She has her father's smile. "Look after yourself," I add. "And if you see Auntie Bella, you know what to do!"

She laughs, a musical sound, so much like her father. "I love you too mum. I… I'll see you soon." And with that, my daughter is gone.

* * *

_ I sent her to her death. I told her to go. I felt as though I'd killed her myself._

_ It took a visit from Harry Potter to make me realise. He arrived, mere days after the battle, looking far more worn, exhausted and just older than he was nearly a year ago, when he crashed into my pond. _

_ He wanted to meet his godson. After he had, I offered him a cup of tea, and he imparted some wise words on me._

_ "It's not your fault," he told me. _

_ "But I told her to go!" I cried, my eyes filling with tears._

_ "If I know Tonks at all, she would have gone, with or without permission," he said. Of course she would. How could I have forgotten that? "But now she knows that you were proud of her." _

_ "Harry's right," his girlfriend told me, the youngest Weasley child. "She and so many others, my brother included, made the ultimate sacrifice. But they've made the world a better place." She took Harry's hand then, and even in the midst of my grief, I couldn't help but feel the amazement that love could still prevail in this time of sadness._

_ Almost a year later, the pain still hurts. But it's feels as though the bruise is fading. I try every day, to think of something to be grateful for. Usually it's my little Teddy, who's growing up so fast. I can't bear to miss even a second. But sometimes, it's the knowledge that those people did not die in vain. They died fighting for a better world for all of us. _

_ I was relieved, when I found out that my sister was dead. All the pain and the hurt that she caused so many people, myself included, will no longer be inflicted upon anyone else. _

_ It also felt strange, visiting my little sister in Azkaban. She wasn't there long. Harry Potter stood up for her in court, and told them how she saved him, lied for him during the battle. Slowly, we are building a relationship. _

_ It's too late to have anything resembling a sisterly bond, but that isn't our fault, in a way. She was too young, so easily influenced by Bellatrix, and our parents, and that Malfoy boy she married. I've even met her son, whose life has been damaged by the war. I hope that he can move beyond this to become a better person._

_ At last, the darkness is fading from the world. We have Harry Potter, and his faithful friends to thank for this. He made this world a better place. We are obliged to enjoy it. The future is ours, if only we can embrace it._

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**********nik-edward is my love, HogwartsDreamer113**, **Chibi-Lill,** **TheMoonIsLowTonight-funkyfish**, **narniaandharrypotter4ever**, **iheartweasleytwins**, **SiriuslySlytherin17, AKToad, ****HereForRhona, and Haraxniss, I can't thank you enough. Your supportive comments have kept me updating. Thankyou so much.**  


************** I'd also like to thank anyone elso out there who has read this fanfic, favourited or put it on their story alerts. Every notification email made me smile. Thankyou.  
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**************I've got a few more projects that I'm working on, but nothing with a specific storyline, more a series of one-shots, so keep an eye out for those. Also, I'm vaguely planning on writing a sequel to this.  
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**************This may have been my first fanfiction, but it certainly isn't my last. Watch this space!  
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